Mon Prof Augmenté
Funnel from a tilted spin
Age 17 · Physics
Inside a severe storm, winds can rotate around a horizontal axis. A strong rising warm current tips that rotation upright, and the spinning column becomes a funnel.
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In the picture
- Horizontal tube of spinning air with curved arrows winding around it
- Rising warm current, shown as upward arrows from the ground
- Tilted spin turned upright into a narrow dropping column
- Ground contact where dust and debris swirl at the base
Examples
- A dust devil sweeping across a dry field
- Bathwater draining as a spinning column
Key takeaways
- The rotation must be tipped from horizontal to vertical for a funnel to form.
- The rising warm current supplies both the tilt and the lift.
Quiz: Funnel from a tilted spin (Age 17)
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What must happen to the storm’s rotation for a funnel to form?
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What does the rising warm current do in the formation of the funnel?
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Inside a severe storm, how do the winds rotate before the rising current acts on them?
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