At some point in our lives, most of us have heard that water spins down a drain in different directions depending on which hemisphere we’re in. The fact is, the Coriolis force has virtually nothing to do with which direction water spins down a drain. The Coriolis force is “real”…
Taking pictures of lightning is not nearly as hard as you may think. In fact, it’s actually quite simple assuming you’re taking pictures at night. If you’re shooting during daylight hours, you’ll either need lightning quick reflexes (pun intended) or some expensive shutter trigger hardware. At night, the entire scene…
Lightning is one of Mother nature’s offerings that captures everyone’s attention because there’s just the right mix of fear and curiosity which draws folks to the show. Moreover, the amounts of ozone and nitrogen oxides created by lightning surpass those generated by human activities in that level of the atmosphere…
Can lightning cause an airplane crash? Not today. The last time a commercial airplane crashed in the United States due to a lightning strike was about 60 years ago. On December 8, 1962 lighting hit a Pan American Boeing 707 in a holding pattern over Elkton, Md. The lightning created…
Most of the new hot water heaters are pretty efficient and don’t need any additional insulation. However some of the older tanks, or less efficient newer tanks, could benefit from some added insulation. They way to tell if you need more insulation is to simply touch the side of your…
Environmentalists would like you to believe the energy efficient Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs) are the next best thing to sliced bread. That’s because they use roughly 75% less electricity compared to the normal incandescent bulbs. Each household using CFLs will draw less power from the electrical grid thus lessening…
Wind chill is a measure of how cold people and animals feel based on heat loss due to wind and evaporation. In cold and windy weather conditions, the skin loses heat through evaporation much more quickly than if the wind were not blowing. Therefore, it feels much cooler when it’s…