Forum for Science, Industry and Business

NASA sees a hot tower in first tropical depression of the eastern Pacific

Tropical Depression 1E formed when the low pressure area called System 91E strengthened overnight. Today, June 7, Tropical Depression 1E (TD1E) was located about 365 miles (590 km) south of Acapulco, Mexico near 11.6 North and 100.0 West. It had maximum sustained winds near 30 mph (45 kmh) and was moving to the northwest near 3 mph (6 kmh). Minimum central pressure was near 1006 millibars.

Tropical Depression 1E is small but thunderstorm "Hot Towers" have reached heights of about 16 km (~9.9 miles) indicating some strong convection (red) around the storm's center. Credit: SSAI/NASA Goddard, Hal Pierce

When TRMM passed over TD1E yesterday morning (it was still System 91E at that time) at 0823 UTC (4:23 p.m. EDT) its precipitation radar instrument analyzed the rainfall rates The majority of rainfall occurring at that time was moderate between .78 to 1.57 inches (20-40 mm) per hour, with some isolated areas of heavy rainfall, falling at almost 2 inches (50 mm) per hour.

More importantly, TRMM noticed some of the thunderstorms around the center of circulation were actually what is called "hot towers."

A hot tower is a rain cloud that reaches at least to the top of the troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere. It extends approximately nine miles (14.5 km) high in the tropics. These towers are called "hot" because they rise to such altitude due to the large amount of latent heat. Water vapor releases this latent heat as it condenses into liquid. They're also indicative of a lot of energy within a tropical depression. In the case of Tropical Depression 1E, some of the hot towers reached heights of 16 km (~9.9 miles).

The National Hurricane Center forecasts TD1E to intensify and continue moving in an north-northwesterly direction, steering away from land.

Rob Gutro | EurekAlert!
Further information:
http://www.Nasa.gov

Im Focus: BAM@Hannover Messe: innovative 3D printing method for space flight

At the Hannover Messe 2018, the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und-prüfung (BAM) will show how, in the future, astronauts could produce their own tools or spare parts in zero gravity using 3D printing. This will reduce, weight and transport costs for space missions. Visitors can experience the innovative additive manufacturing process live at the fair.

Powder-based additive manufacturing in zero gravity is the name of the project in which a component is produced by applying metallic powder layers and then...

Im Focus: Molecules Brilliantly Illuminated

Physicists at the Laboratory for Attosecond Physics, which is jointly run by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität and the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, have developed a high-power laser system that generates ultrashort pulses of light covering a large share of the mid-infrared spectrum. The researchers envisage a wide range of applications for the technology – in the early diagnosis of cancer, for instance.

Molecules are the building blocks of life. Like all other organisms, we are made of them. They control our biorhythm, and they can also reflect our state of...

Im Focus: Spider silk key to new bone-fixing composite

University of Connecticut researchers have created a biodegradable composite made of silk fibers that can be used to repair broken load-bearing bones without the complications sometimes presented by other materials.

Repairing major load-bearing bones such as those in the leg can be a long and uncomfortable process.

Im Focus: Writing and deleting magnets with lasers

Study published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces is the outcome of an international effort that included teams from Dresden and Berlin in Germany, and the US.

Scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) together with colleagues from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the University of Virginia...

Im Focus: Gamma-ray flashes from plasma filaments

Novel highly efficient and brilliant gamma-ray source: Based on model calculations, physicists of the Max PIanck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg propose a novel method for an efficient high-brilliance gamma-ray source. A giant collimated gamma-ray pulse is generated from the interaction of a dense ultra-relativistic electron beam with a thin solid conductor. Energetic gamma-rays are copiously produced as the electron beam splits into filaments while propagating across the conductor. The resulting gamma-ray energy and flux enable novel experiments in nuclear and fundamental physics.

The typical wavelength of light interacting with an object of the microcosm scales with the size of this object. For atoms, this ranges from visible light to...