Recently a tornado hit Brooklyn and Staten Island. The sky turned dark green and rain poured in to there. Trees fell which led to street closures accidents and mass transit delays. How are tornados like these evidence that air is matter?
"Matter" in terms of what? In terms of your life, what if you lived there?
Tornadoes, such as the one you mentioned in Brooklyn and Staten Island, are indeed evidence that air is matter. To understand how, let's break it down step by step:
1. Tornado Formation: Tornadoes are powerful rotating columns of air that extend from a thunderstorm cloud to the ground. They form in severe weather conditions, usually during thunderstorms, when warm, moist air near the surface meets cool, dry air above it.
2. Pressure and Density: One key aspect that relates to air being matter is air pressure. Air has mass, meaning it takes up space, which is a defining characteristic of matter. The pressure of air changes due to variations in temperature and density. In a tornado, you have different air masses colliding and interacting, causing a significant change in air pressure.
3. Air Movements: As the warm, moist air rises and the cool, dry air descends, it creates a horizontal rotation near the ground. This is known as wind shear. When wind shear combines with updrafts from the storm, it can start to vertically stretch the rotating column. As the tornado strengthens, the rotating column narrows and accelerates, causing intense winds.
4. Visible Indicators: The dark green sky you mentioned is a visual indicator of the atmospheric conditions associated with a tornado. This greenish tint can occur due to the scattering of sunlight by raindrops or hail in the storm cloud, which reflects back in a way that appears green.
5. Impact: Tornadoes can cause destructive consequences when these powerful rotating winds come into contact with the ground. The high winds can uproot trees, damage structures, and cause significant disruptions to transportation systems, as you described with street closures, accidents, and transit delays.
In summary, tornadoes are evidence that air is matter because their formation, the pressure and density changes involved, the visible indicators like a dark green sky, and the destructive impacts they cause all demonstrate the physical properties of air as a tangible substance.