RESOLVE THE MYSTERY WITHIN THE TORNADOS

Scientists from the Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, have solved the mystery of what happens inside the center of a tornado or vortex, its most destructive part, whose nature was unknown until now.

According to the official website of the university, the study is based on a mathematical model that simulated the temperature, pressure and density distribution inside the turbulent vortices in order to explain why low temperatures and lack of oxygen that characterize them.

Georgios Vatistas, professor of engineering and co-author of the study, explains that the phenomenon is a product of the movement between the air pockets from the periphery to the interior of the vortex. Thus, the air, being far from the axis of rotation of the tornado, is heated first to reach a maximum temperature, higher than that of the environment, and expands to then cool down suddenly to its interior.

"With this new approach, we have identified for the first time in history the cause of the drop in temperature inside the vortices," says Vatistas.

The result was compared to what happened during the violent tornado that struck Scottsbluff (Nebraska, USA) in 1955. Canadian scientists discovered that the temperature around the vortex at that time may have dropped from 27 ° C to 12 ° C and the pressure up to 20%.

Such atmospheric conditions, similar to those of the 'death zones' in the mountains above 7,500 meters of altitude, explain why the witnesses of that tornado experienced intense cold and difficulty in breathing.

This research hopes to help not only to understand other similar climatic phenomena, but also to improve the operation of the refrigeration vortex tubes used in the industry in cutting tools, as well as in electronic, gas and heat components.