WEBVTT - How Hurricane Killing Works

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff from the Science Lab from how stuff

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<v Speaker 1>works dot com. Hey guys, and welcome to the podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Alice and I don't like, the science editor

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<v Speaker 1>at how stuff works dot com. And this is Robert Lamb,

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<v Speaker 1>science writer for how stuff works dot com. Today we're

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<v Speaker 1>talking about killing hurricane at the very least kind of

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<v Speaker 1>remaining edge. Right. It's uh, it reminds me a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of the Godzilla movies. Have you seen any of the

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<v Speaker 1>Godzilla movies? I have not seen a Godzilla movies. I'm sorry. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>generally the whole idea is that a giant monsters rising

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<v Speaker 1>out of the ocean lizard right, Well, yeah, in the

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<v Speaker 1>case of Godzilla, giant lizard, this giant lizard is rising

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<v Speaker 1>up out of the ocean and coming towards the city,

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<v Speaker 1>and when he gets there, he's going to destroy lots

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<v Speaker 1>of stuff. And the movie comes down to can we

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<v Speaker 1>stop this monster from from carrying out this attack? Okay, Well,

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<v Speaker 1>a hurricane kind of similar Godzilla. Okay, yeah, it's that

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<v Speaker 1>you know, giants, salonic storm that spins out from the tropics,

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<v Speaker 1>feeding on warm ocean waters, and a lot of the

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<v Speaker 1>time ends up coming closer and closer towards major centers

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<v Speaker 1>of population UHA in coastal areas, right, and then they

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<v Speaker 1>also have that low atmospheric pressure that's trademark the high winds,

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<v Speaker 1>the heavy rain, and all that stuff that's associated with

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<v Speaker 1>the hurricane. Yep, if they they're they're spinning feeding off

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<v Speaker 1>all that warm water and warm air, is is is

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<v Speaker 1>being sucked towards that low pressure center and rising up

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<v Speaker 1>at the eye of the hurricane and basically like a

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<v Speaker 1>big column of low pressure air rising into the sky

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<v Speaker 1>where then disperses in in storm activity. Yeah, I just

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<v Speaker 1>think of that quintessential shot on the weather station that

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<v Speaker 1>we've all seen with the hurricane spiraling in and you know,

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<v Speaker 1>headed ominously for some coastal destination near you. So hurricane

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<v Speaker 1>season runs, just to give you us some quick facts,

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<v Speaker 1>that runs from June through November in the northern Hemisphere

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<v Speaker 1>and then down in the southern hemisphere obviously runs from

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<v Speaker 1>January to March. Right. In the Godzilla movies, they tend

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<v Speaker 1>to try and uh slow down the mon stop the

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<v Speaker 1>monster one way or another. With hurricanes, we really haven't

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<v Speaker 1>had many options as far as stopping the hurricane goes. Generally,

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<v Speaker 1>it's more battened down the hatches or evacuated. Just evacuate

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<v Speaker 1>out of there. Just get get the heck out of dogs.

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<v Speaker 1>That's all you can can really do. However, that there

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<v Speaker 1>have been plenty of of times where people come up

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<v Speaker 1>with sort of hair brained schemes to try and stop

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<v Speaker 1>the hurricane or like I say, slow it down right right,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, because hurricanes can be pretty crazy. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>they can kill a lot of people. I think the

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<v Speaker 1>biggest one on record in terms of loss of life

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<v Speaker 1>in the US was eight thousand people and that was

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<v Speaker 1>back in nineteen hundred in Galveston, Texas and Costlius. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>um is a hurricane Katrina, which resulted in about eighty

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<v Speaker 1>billion in property damages. So slowing a hurricane down or

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<v Speaker 1>stopping it, I mean, it makes sense in terms of

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<v Speaker 1>of human life and damage. Yeah, So what are there

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<v Speaker 1>are were just some of the ideas that people have

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<v Speaker 1>put forth on the table. Well, Um, under under natural circumstances,

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<v Speaker 1>hurricane is not going to stop until basically it runs

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<v Speaker 1>out of food. It until it it no longer has

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<v Speaker 1>warm water to uh to feed off of, which generally

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<v Speaker 1>means that it either ends up going into cooler areas

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<v Speaker 1>and uh and just disperses into more manageable storm activita,

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<v Speaker 1>more manageable storm activiation, more manageable storm activity, or it

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<v Speaker 1>actually makes landfall, um, and of course it's on land

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<v Speaker 1>there and then it disperses as well. But if it

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<v Speaker 1>makes landfall, obviously you've kind of lost if it hits

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<v Speaker 1>the city. So one way is to simply take away

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<v Speaker 1>that warm water and replace it with cool water. So

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<v Speaker 1>one method of trying to do that sticking a giant

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<v Speaker 1>water pump essentially on the bottom of the ocean. Basically

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<v Speaker 1>that yeah, sticking a giant water pump on the bottom

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<v Speaker 1>of the ocean, or trying to create a giant bubble

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<v Speaker 1>of cool water, because underneath all that warm water that

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<v Speaker 1>the hurricanes speeding over, there's plenty of cool water. It's

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<v Speaker 1>just a matter of can we get it up bring

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<v Speaker 1>it to the surface. And that the only problem there

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<v Speaker 1>is that that would entail a whole lot of effort.

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<v Speaker 1>We're talking like man sup pump system, a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>pumping are or you know, technology would we just don't

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<v Speaker 1>have or at least don't have on that scale. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>so you give you an idea, I mean, Hurricane Katrina

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<v Speaker 1>at one point, her diameter was measuring um roughly the

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<v Speaker 1>size of the Gulf of Mexico. So that's that's a

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<v Speaker 1>pretty big undertaking. Yeah, even even if you're you're not

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<v Speaker 1>going to try and cool the entire Gulf of Mexico,

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<v Speaker 1>just just cooling a large enough area to have any

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<v Speaker 1>kind of impact on the hurricane, and it's just a

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<v Speaker 1>monumental endeavor, right, And that's not even that's not even

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<v Speaker 1>mentioning the effect on the wildlife, who would probably react

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<v Speaker 1>pretty badly to it. Yeah, I think we have enough

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<v Speaker 1>crap on the bottom of the ocean. We don't need

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<v Speaker 1>to add more pipes and whatnot. So that's one method

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<v Speaker 1>that we're not really looking at too closely anymore. Another is,

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<v Speaker 1>instead of coming in underneath the hurricane, coming in from

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<v Speaker 1>above and dropping powder, absorbent powders and super observants, super

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<v Speaker 1>absorbent powers. A lot of this is uh, pretty much

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<v Speaker 1>the same idea as cloud seating, of which the US

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<v Speaker 1>and China have both engaged in. So China did it.

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<v Speaker 1>We've written our to cloth at it. Can China control

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<v Speaker 1>the weather? Yeah, because they don't really want they didn't

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<v Speaker 1>really want clouds over Beijing or in the Olympics, and

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<v Speaker 1>if they are clouds over farmlands, they kind of want

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<v Speaker 1>those clouds to go ahead and rain down and the

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<v Speaker 1>water the crops. So the idea is basically a hurricane

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<v Speaker 1>is made out of clouds, and if you can turn

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<v Speaker 1>those clouds in rain, you are effectively taken out the

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<v Speaker 1>legs of the hurricane. Sure. Sure, so you're sucking the

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<v Speaker 1>moisture out right. So you know we're talking, uh, dropping

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<v Speaker 1>like a lot of potassium chloride, or if you're gonna

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<v Speaker 1>use some of the the more regular cloud seeding materials

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<v Speaker 1>silver iodine crystals, dropping those into the hurricane. And again

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<v Speaker 1>this would be a massive undertaking. The guy is a

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<v Speaker 1>gentleman by the name of Peter cor Danny if if

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<v Speaker 1>I have if I've pronounced his name right, Um, he

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<v Speaker 1>was thinking that I would take about four hundred tons

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<v Speaker 1>of this super observement powder. Um and then you know,

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<v Speaker 1>just flinging it. How do you get it up there?

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<v Speaker 1>I guess just lift plain after a plane or not clear,

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<v Speaker 1>not clear on that and face maybe I don't think

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<v Speaker 1>he was clear on it either, because he said, and

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<v Speaker 1>I quote to the Chicago Tribune, the only thing we

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<v Speaker 1>don't know about is the impact on a hurricane and

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<v Speaker 1>the after effects. So we just don't know if it'll

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<v Speaker 1>work or anything. Yeah, that's the only flaw on that plan. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>I do like the idea of the super observent powder.

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<v Speaker 1>Now it's kind of like telcom powder. Here's another pretty

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<v Speaker 1>interesting approach, is, um, why don't we just you know,

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<v Speaker 1>lodger or hawk a nuclear weapons smack in the center

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<v Speaker 1>of a hurricane. Yeah, who thinks that's a good idea? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know that anyone things it's a good idea.

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<v Speaker 1>But people always bring this up. People love to throw

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<v Speaker 1>nukes at our problems. And okay, so so one major

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<v Speaker 1>flaw with with this is, um, we have no idea

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<v Speaker 1>if a nuclear weapon could alter a storm's architecture. Really,

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<v Speaker 1>no idea. And then the side issue of all that

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<v Speaker 1>radioactive fallout from said nuclear bomb and then taking advantage

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<v Speaker 1>of the hurricane force winds that would do a really

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<v Speaker 1>great job of dispersing that all of the environment. And

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<v Speaker 1>so all we've finentially done is made a already dangerous

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<v Speaker 1>hurricane radioactive. Yeah, essentially. And then the other part of

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<v Speaker 1>it is, I don't even know that a nuclear weapon

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<v Speaker 1>would be strong enough. I read the stat that said,

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<v Speaker 1>fully developed hurricane can release heat energy at this crazy rate.

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<v Speaker 1>And here's the rate five to twenty times ten tot plots.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's totally unquantifiable to to do anybody listening, even

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<v Speaker 1>to me who's reading it. But that's equivalent to a

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<v Speaker 1>ten megatime nuclear bomb exploding every twenty minutes. Wow. So

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<v Speaker 1>so we're not even talking like dropping a singular nuclear

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<v Speaker 1>weapon into a hurricane. We're talking in all out nuclear

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<v Speaker 1>strike on hurricane. Yeah, on a single storm. Yeah. So

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<v Speaker 1>so strike the strike the nuclear weapon approached. Yeah, all right,

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<v Speaker 1>so that's not gonna work. Um, what else do we have. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>one idea that's uh that's come out in the last

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<v Speaker 1>year or so, and it's getting a fair amoun of

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<v Speaker 1>press here and there is uh also kind of kind

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<v Speaker 1>of macho, kind of manly, and that's that you have

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<v Speaker 1>a hurricane approaching the city, Well you just get a

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<v Speaker 1>couple of fighter pilots to jump in in some planes

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<v Speaker 1>and supersonic planes and fly into that hurricane and going

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<v Speaker 1>at about mountain at about mock one, do a few

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<v Speaker 1>loops around the eye of the hurricane and then get

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<v Speaker 1>out of there. And then and bam. You'll either slow

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<v Speaker 1>down the hurricane or disrupted enough to where it just disperses.

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<v Speaker 1>So how would this work exactly? Well, Uh, supersonic hurricane

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<v Speaker 1>neutralizing or super sonic hurricane suppression UM, which is a

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<v Speaker 1>great name. Yeah, it depends more on the supersonic side

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<v Speaker 1>of endless on the airplane because airplanes lying in a hurricane,

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<v Speaker 1>that's I mean, they might as well be insects. But

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<v Speaker 1>when when an airplane breaks the sound barrier A it

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<v Speaker 1>produces that you know, magnificent sonic boom. But it's also

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<v Speaker 1>creates this conical wave, this shock wave of pressure that

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<v Speaker 1>comes out from it. And this pressure can be pretty strong.

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<v Speaker 1>UM to put it, put it in terms you can

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<v Speaker 1>sort of relate to if you're standing on the seaside,

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<v Speaker 1>just the atmosphere around you is exerting about fourteen point

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<v Speaker 1>seven pounds per square inch pressure on and you don't

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<v Speaker 1>really notice it. Yeah, it's just there. Uh. A F

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<v Speaker 1>four phantom flying at a low altitude, though, can can

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<v Speaker 1>the shock wave from that plane can? If it's going

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<v Speaker 1>mock one can exert about a hundred and forty four

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<v Speaker 1>pounds of pressure per square foot, and just sixteen pounds

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<v Speaker 1>is enough to potentially like damage windows or structures. So

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<v Speaker 1>that's a pretty amountic increase. So right, yeah, it's not

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<v Speaker 1>so much the planes. It's the fact that you have

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<v Speaker 1>you would have this basically this worm of of expanding

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<v Speaker 1>pressure moving around in the hurricane and uh, disrupting the

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<v Speaker 1>pressure enough to to essentially kill or alter the hurricane.

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<v Speaker 1>Is that that's the idea pretty much. And the guys

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<v Speaker 1>behind this belief, they're out of Ohio. Yeah, universe see

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<v Speaker 1>an acron and Ohio to Russian guy. But name of

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<v Speaker 1>Arcady Arkady Lenoff, I believe. Yeah. Lenoff is basically highlighting

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<v Speaker 1>two key ways of taking out a hurricane. Mainly, a

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<v Speaker 1>hurricane at least in the northern Hemisphere is rotating counterclockwise.

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<v Speaker 1>So the idea as you fly these planes in going clockwise,

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<v Speaker 1>it's like if you if you stick your thumb up

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<v Speaker 1>into a into a ceiling fan to try and stop it,

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<v Speaker 1>because that's always a good idea. We'll not sticking it

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<v Speaker 1>straight up, but you know, if you basically you're applying

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<v Speaker 1>alternate opposite pressure. So um, yeah, the hurricanes moving one way,

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<v Speaker 1>you have your fighter planes come in the other way

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<v Speaker 1>with all this pressure from there from there from the

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<v Speaker 1>shock wave that comes out from them. Uh, and the

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<v Speaker 1>ideas that you either slow them or you even stop

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<v Speaker 1>that that turning entirely. Let's say, that's a pretty awesome

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<v Speaker 1>task for them to to undertake. Yeah, but the key

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<v Speaker 1>is the pressure. And this guy's claiming that just two

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<v Speaker 1>planes could do it, just like two f fours. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I would do the trick for regular hurricane. Okay, so

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<v Speaker 1>that this on seems to have some problems with it

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<v Speaker 1>as well, I'm sorry, Russian guy from University of Akron. Fit. Wait,

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<v Speaker 1>but he's also saying that he could fly a couple

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<v Speaker 1>in at a low altitude and it would basically accomplish

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<v Speaker 1>the same thing as the pumping of the water pumping unfit.

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<v Speaker 1>It would disrupt the water and bring cause an upwelling

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<v Speaker 1>of cooler oceanic water that would again take away that

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<v Speaker 1>warm water that the right, sort of similar to that

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<v Speaker 1>giant water pump. Yeah, and it would be kind of

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<v Speaker 1>side benefit. Okay, Well, right, so this approach is problems right,

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<v Speaker 1>So how long do you have to fly the plane

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<v Speaker 1>around there? I mean, how many passes do you have

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<v Speaker 1>to do? What if it runs out of fuel? I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>these these guys consume fuel like it's nobody's business. Jet

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<v Speaker 1>fuel ain't cheap and uh and is it indeed, is

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<v Speaker 1>it going to be a matter of a guy flies

0:11:46.040 --> 0:11:48.839
<v Speaker 1>in fifteen minutes later he's you know, there's a dead

0:11:48.920 --> 0:11:52.720
<v Speaker 1>hurricane falling behind him? Or is this like wave after

0:11:52.800 --> 0:11:56.960
<v Speaker 1>wave of flights you know? Not clear? Not clear at all? Also,

0:11:57.200 --> 0:12:00.680
<v Speaker 1>which storms do you shoot down? Yeah? Not all of them, surely?

0:12:01.200 --> 0:12:03.840
<v Speaker 1>And do you do you just do you wait till

0:12:03.880 --> 0:12:06.680
<v Speaker 1>they get you know, close enough to harm just the

0:12:06.760 --> 0:12:08.760
<v Speaker 1>United States? Or do you you get them when they're

0:12:08.760 --> 0:12:11.360
<v Speaker 1>about to hit Haiti? You know when it seems like

0:12:11.400 --> 0:12:15.880
<v Speaker 1>politics becomes involved there? Yeah, meteorologist is god. Yeah, it

0:12:15.920 --> 0:12:19.680
<v Speaker 1>doesn't seem like a good idea. And then I mean, yeah,

0:12:19.800 --> 0:12:22.000
<v Speaker 1>so really like which storms and when do you shoot

0:12:22.080 --> 0:12:23.480
<v Speaker 1>him down? How long do you let them play out?

0:12:23.600 --> 0:12:25.120
<v Speaker 1>Like do you wait till it, you know, hits a

0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:28.600
<v Speaker 1>certain category before it's deemed a danger you know? Well,

0:12:28.679 --> 0:12:31.280
<v Speaker 1>and the other thing is why not let mother nature

0:12:31.280 --> 0:12:33.760
<v Speaker 1>blow off a little steam every once in a while. Yeah,

0:12:33.800 --> 0:12:36.640
<v Speaker 1>I mean that's a that's a key criticism for a

0:12:36.640 --> 0:12:38.760
<v Speaker 1>lot of these, uh, these ideas that are out there,

0:12:38.760 --> 0:12:41.800
<v Speaker 1>people saying that, hey, you know, hurricanes. They're natural. They're

0:12:41.800 --> 0:12:46.000
<v Speaker 1>not radioactive monsters rising up out of the ocean. There, Godzilla,

0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:49.400
<v Speaker 1>They're no Godzilla. They are a natural part of the environment,

0:12:49.679 --> 0:12:53.360
<v Speaker 1>and they do important U tasks like watering crops. I mean,

0:12:53.559 --> 0:12:56.720
<v Speaker 1>when when a hurricane makes landfall, it may you know,

0:12:56.800 --> 0:12:59.160
<v Speaker 1>it may destroy a city, but it's also bringing a

0:12:59.160 --> 0:13:01.280
<v Speaker 1>lot of rain for a lot of them'll be in

0:13:01.320 --> 0:13:05.240
<v Speaker 1>a massive flood. But but yeah, no, it definitely does

0:13:05.280 --> 0:13:07.680
<v Speaker 1>bring much needed water. Yeah. And if we don't let

0:13:08.640 --> 0:13:11.760
<v Speaker 1>let the if we don't let the weather release that

0:13:12.200 --> 0:13:14.360
<v Speaker 1>all that energy in the form of a hurricane, how

0:13:14.480 --> 0:13:17.920
<v Speaker 1>is it going to be released? You know? So what

0:13:18.040 --> 0:13:19.920
<v Speaker 1>I take from this is Godzilla is not always a

0:13:19.960 --> 0:13:23.880
<v Speaker 1>bad things, all right, Right, Sometimes, yeah, sometimes Godzilla is

0:13:23.920 --> 0:13:25.520
<v Speaker 1>a good thing. You know. It need a little Godzilla

0:13:25.559 --> 0:13:27.520
<v Speaker 1>from times at times. So if you want to read

0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:30.960
<v Speaker 1>about hurricanes and all sorts of monsters and other things

0:13:30.960 --> 0:13:33.559
<v Speaker 1>that Mother Nature can throw out, you good how stuff

0:13:33.559 --> 0:13:36.560
<v Speaker 1>works dot com right or check out our science blog

0:13:36.640 --> 0:13:39.319
<v Speaker 1>at blogs dot how stuff works dot com. Thanks guys

0:13:42.200 --> 0:13:44.640
<v Speaker 1>for more on this and thousands of other topics. Is

0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:48.160
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0:13:48.480 --> 0:13:50.640
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0:13:50.640 --> 0:13:52.800
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