Okay I was told that Straw that is grown in the field could actually pierce a wooden wall (I was told a barn wall), at hurricane or tornado wind speeds. IS this possible? Any one seen this one on Mythbusters?
2007-03-08 14:51:32 · 8 answers · asked by Korbyn's Mama 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Weather
Saw it on MythBusters. It can pierce, but not pass through. They actually tried it on a palm tree.
2007-03-08 14:58:41 · answer #1 · answered by Dan 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
There have been numerous instances where straw has been found embedded in objects after a tornado or hurricane, but theories on how it happens vary.
The best explanations that I have ever seen on this is from Weatherbug...here is a link to the site and the a quote from that page:
"One of the more plausible theories about how pieces of straw and metal get embedded into wood and brick comes from Roger Edwards who is a meteorologist at the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, OK. Roger believes that the intense winds of the tornado can bend a tree or other object, creating cracks in which straw and other debris becomes wedged before the tree straightened out and the crack tightens shut.
Another theory based on quantum physics states that the piece of straw is electrically changed super fast as it spins in the center of the tornado allowing it to exist on a ?higher energy density?. When it flies out of the tornado and comes in contact with something of a lower energy density, it passes through that object like a ghost until the energy levels are equal and the straw is frozen in the object."
2007-03-08 23:09:38 · answer #2 · answered by bottleblondemama 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It happens with tornados all the time. Last week, the twister hit that hospital in Georgia- sent a two by four like a spear through the double ciderblock wall on the 2nd floor. And that was only a level 3 rated twister. The bottom line IS- those storms are nothing to play with. Hurricanes are not quite as powerfull- but they're every bit as dangerous.
2007-03-08 23:09:52 · answer #3 · answered by Joseph, II 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I saw a peice of straw through a board from a tornado back east. Also saw a horse trough wrapped up high in a tree. A tornado can rip a roof off a house but leave a flower in the vase, etc
2007-03-08 23:01:21 · answer #4 · answered by terri d 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Its hard to say because straw is so brittle but at high speeds such as those in a tornado, it might be possibly but not likely. You are more likely to be injured or killed by a piece of someones house instead
In the May 3rd 1999 OKC tornado, it was so violent that on doppler radar, the reflectivity spiked because of all the debris in the tornado.
2007-03-08 23:02:06 · answer #5 · answered by Kevin B 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Nope. Straw lacks sufficient density to make that truly happen, as Mythbusters proved
2007-03-08 23:05:51 · answer #6 · answered by Experto Credo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Once I saw a peice of straw pass right through a pick up truck window and the same peice went right through my dog and then my girlfreind killing them both instantly. This is not a joke it was a very tragic day for me and my pick up truck.
But I don't think it can go through wood.
2007-03-09 01:02:09 · answer #7 · answered by bubba 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
it is possible. high winds can make almost anything deadly.
2007-03-08 22:58:56 · answer #8 · answered by Testudo 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋