What a hurricane wind. At what wind speed do planes fly?

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1 kilometer per hour [km/h] = 0.277777777777778 meter per second [m/s]

Initial value

Converted value

meter per second meter per hour meter per minute kilometer per hour kilometer per minute kilometers per second centimeter per hour centimeter per minute centimeter per second millimeter per hour millimeter per minute millimeter per second foot per hour foot per minute foot per second yard per hour yard per minute yard per second mile per hour mile per minute mile per second knot knot (brit.) speed of light in vacuum first space velocity second space velocity third space velocity earth's rotation velocity sound velocity in fresh water velocity of sound in sea ​​water(20°C, depth 10 meters) Mach number (20°C, 1 atm) Mach number (SI standard)

Bulk charge density

More about speed

General information

Speed ​​is a measure of the distance traveled in a given time. Velocity can be a scalar quantity or a vector value - the direction of motion is taken into account. The speed of movement in a straight line is called linear, and in a circle - angular.

Speed ​​measurement

average speed v find by dividing the total distance traveled ∆ x on total time ∆t: v = ∆x/∆t.

In the SI system, speed is measured in meters per second. Also commonly used are kilometers per hour in the metric system and miles per hour in the US and UK. When, in addition to the magnitude, the direction is also indicated, for example, 10 meters per second to the north, then we are talking about vector speed.

The speed of bodies moving with acceleration can be found using the formulas:

• a, with initial speed u during the period ∆ t, has a final speed v = u + a×∆ t.
• A body moving with constant acceleration a, with initial speed u and final speed v, has an average speed ∆ v = (u + v)/2.

Average speeds

The speed of light and sound

According to the theory of relativity, the speed of light in a vacuum is the fastest high speed with which energy and information can move. It is denoted by the constant c and equal to c= 299,792,458 meters per second. Matter cannot move at the speed of light because it would require an infinite amount of energy, which is impossible.

The speed of sound is usually measured in an elastic medium and is 343.2 meters per second in dry air at 20°C. The speed of sound is lowest in gases and highest in solids. It depends on the density, elasticity, and shear modulus of the substance (which indicates the degree of deformation of the substance under shear loading). Mach number M is the ratio of the speed of a body in a liquid or gas medium to the speed of sound in this medium. It can be calculated using the formula:

M = v/a,

Where a is the speed of sound in the medium, and v is the speed of the body. The Mach number is commonly used in determining speeds close to the speed of sound, such as aircraft speeds. This value is not constant; it depends on the state of the medium, which, in turn, depends on pressure and temperature. Supersonic speed - speed exceeding 1 Mach.

Vehicle speed

Below are some vehicle speeds.

• Passenger aircraft with turbofan engines: cruising speed passenger aircraft- from 244 to 257 meters per second, which corresponds to 878–926 kilometers per hour or M = 0.83–0.87.
• High-speed trains (like the Shinkansen in Japan): these trains reach maximum speeds from 36 to 122 meters per second, that is, from 130 to 440 kilometers per hour.

animal speed

The maximum speeds of some animals are approximately equal:

human speed

• Humans walk at about 1.4 meters per second, or 5 kilometers per hour, and run at up to about 8.3 meters per second, or 30 kilometers per hour.

Examples of different speeds

four dimensional speed

In classical mechanics, the vector velocity is measured in three-dimensional space. According to the special theory of relativity, space is four-dimensional, and the fourth dimension, space-time, is also taken into account in the measurement of speed. This speed is called four-dimensional speed. Its direction may change, but the magnitude is constant and equal to c, which is the speed of light. Four-dimensional speed is defined as

U = ∂x/∂τ,

Where x represents the world line - a curve in space-time along which the body moves, and τ - "proper time", equal to the interval along the world line.

group speed

Group velocity is the velocity of wave propagation, which describes the propagation velocity of a group of waves and determines the rate of wave energy transfer. It can be calculated as ∂ ω /∂k, Where k is the wave number, and ω - angular frequency. K measured in radians / meter, and the scalar frequency of wave oscillations ω - in radians per second.

Hypersonic speed

Hypersonic speed is a speed exceeding 3000 meters per second, that is, many times higher than the speed of sound. Solid bodies moving at such a speed acquire the properties of liquids, since due to inertia, the loads in this state are stronger than the forces that hold the molecules of matter together during a collision with other bodies. At ultra-high hypersonic speeds, two colliding solid bodies turn into gas. In space, bodies move exactly at this speed, and engineers designing spacecraft, orbital stations, and spacesuits must take into account the possibility of a station or astronaut colliding with space debris and other objects when working in outer space. In such a collision, the skin of the spacecraft and the suit suffer. Equipment designers conduct hypersonic collision experiments in special laboratories to determine how strong collisions can withstand spacesuits, as well as skins and other parts of the spacecraft, for example fuel tanks and solar panels, testing them for durability. To do this, spacesuits and skin are subjected to impacts with various objects from a special installation with supersonic speeds exceeding 7500 meters per second.

Takeoff is the most difficult part of flying. Of course, the automatic takeoff mode after the release of the brakes is not difficult, but the crew of the aircraft, led by the commander, must be tuned to critical moments. Can a flight be canceled due to rain? ? You will find out in the process of reading the article.

Objective assessment

Do planes fly in the rain? Yes. But in order for the flight to be successful, there are strict regulations for pilots and controllers who allow the aircraft to fly and land. For each side and airfield, the rules are individual, but with similar indicators:

• minimal visibility. Determined both vertical and horizontal visibility with the level of illumination;
• runway coverage. Ice on the airfield is unacceptable;
• the ability of pilots to receive instrument signals of adverse weather conditions.

Normally, the weather forecast should correspond to the meteorological minimum so that the pilot has the opportunity to take emergency action in the event of a critical situation.

Paramount parameters

What is meant by meteorological minimum? These are the conditions that apply in relation to visibility, cloudiness, wind speed and direction. These criteria can be dangerous when flying, especially when it comes to thunderstorms, downpours and severe turbulence. Of course, most thunderclouds can be bypassed, but frontal thunderstorms stretching for hundreds of kilometers are almost impossible to bypass.

If we are talking about minima, then the criteria for visibility at the aerodrome and the decision height (CHL) are determined. What is this indicator? This is the level of altitude at which the aircraft crew is required to make an additional turn when the runway is not defined.

There are three types of minima:

• air transport - acceptable criteria for the safe flight of an aircraft under adverse weather conditions, established by the manufacturer;
• aerodrome - depends on the type of installed navigational and technical systems on runway and in the surrounded area;
• crew - the admission of pilots in accordance with their training program under specific weather conditions and practical flight skills.

Do planes fly in the rain? To allow an aircraft to take off or not, is determined only by the aircraft commander. To make a decision, you should first familiarize yourself with the provided meteorological data for the destination aerodromes, as well as alternate ones, and evaluate them.

Thunderstorm is not a hindrance to flight

A thunderstorm is a rather dangerous phenomenon, but for modern liner it is not the cause of the disaster. Technique and people have learned to overcome huge distances safely in all weather conditions.

In his practice, every experienced pilot has repeatedly encountered thunderclouds, which significantly complicate the landing and takeoff of an aircraft in the rain. During the "entry" into the clouds, the crew loses the visual perception of the machine in space. Therefore, flight in "non-flying" weather can only be carried out according to technical instruments. In some cases, an unpleasant situation may arise - the electrification of the aircraft. Here, radio communication deteriorates sharply, which causes great inconvenience even to professional pilots.

But most of all, "non-flying" weather complicates the landing of liners. In such a crew is maximally loaded. The captain, even in modern rain, glances at aviation equipment up to 200 times per minute, focusing on each fixture up to 1 second. Low cloud cover in combination with a thunderstorm is a serious obstacle to the correct movement of the aircraft. Therefore, it is extremely important to have a good knowledge of the clouds, their state and the nearest changes. The deterioration of the weather begins if there is:

• accelerated drop in atmospheric pressure;
• a sharp change in the direction and speed of the wind;
• an increase in various types of cloudiness and its rapid movement;
• "growth" of cumulus clouds in the evening;
• the formation of colored circles around the satellites of the Earth.

You can’t play with a thunderstorm, you need to bypass it as far as possible, according to the regulations. In addition, when climbing or descending, the pilot must correlate information on the development of the elements with the capabilities of the aircraft.

When there are clouds in the sky

Is it dangerous to fly in the rain on an airplane? The passenger liner passes the path according to the given airways. In case of bad weather, the coordinates may change upon agreement with the controller at the flight control center. The flight altitude is about 11,000 meters. For this reason, it becomes comfortable with more. It is this flight altitude that allows the aircraft to rise above the clouds - the sources of rain or snow. Therefore, moving the aircraft to high altitude completely independent of weather conditions. Often you can observe how the rays of the sun enter the window of the liner, and when landing it is dark and it is raining.

Do planes fly in the rain? Yes. Theoretically, raindrops can affect aircraft engine performance. But rain is not the amount of water that can provoke a short circuit. In tests, the engine compressors are subjected to a good "gulf", which is not compared with natural phenomena.

We take into account

Do planes fly in thunderstorms? The precipitation itself does not pose any danger to the flight. Another thing is visibility. But when it rains, windshield wipers come to the rescue. Aircraft windshield wipers are different from car wipers. First, they have a completely different design. Secondly, the windshield wipers operate at a very high rate, which provides a perfect view.

How do planes land when it rains? The most critical in bad weather are "atmospheric disturbances". The landing aircraft has a low speed and can easily be affected by the movement of air masses. To overcome the adverse effects during this phenomenon, pilots spend a lot of time "in simulators", honing their skills. If in such weather the danger of an accident is great, then the landing is postponed or the ship is sent to another airfield.

Another important factor in rain is traction. Wet coating reduces its coefficient, but this situation is not recognized as critical. It is much more dangerous if the water on the asphalt freezes, and the value of the coefficient decreases. Most similar cases The airport does not allow aircraft to take off or land.

Other natural barriers

In addition to the main weather phenomena, there are other important criteria that limit the capabilities of aviation:

• wind - requires special care and dexterity from the pilot, especially on the runway;
• remu - vertical movement of air, throwing up an aircraft, forming "air pockets";
• fog is a real enemy during flights, limiting visibility and forcing pilots to navigate by compasses;
• glaciation - on the ice-covered runway, the movement of aircraft is strictly prohibited.

Thanks to the developed electronic devices and systems, she is ready to overcome any weather conditions. The movement on the runway is safe, because in critical situations the liner simply does not depart for the flight or remains in certain waiting areas.

Heavy flight criteria

Cumulus clouds in cold weather and at high altitude in summer can be a hazard to aircraft. It is here that the probability of aircraft icing is quite high. In cumulus clouds, the flight of heavy aircraft is complicated by turbulence. If the likelihood of adverse events persists, the flight is postponed for several hours.

Indicators of bad stable weather are:

• atmospheric pressure with low rates, which practically do not change or even decrease;
• high wind speed;
• clouds in the sky are predominantly of a scatter or scatter-rain type;
• prolonged precipitation in the form of rain or snow;
• small fluctuations in temperature during the day.

If the problem with rain can be solved more quickly, then heavy precipitation, especially in the form of drizzle, will create difficulties. They take a lot large areas and it's almost impossible to bypass them. In such a zone, visibility is significantly reduced, and at low temperatures, icing of the aircraft body occurs. Therefore, at low altitude in such situations, flight is classified as difficult.

On duty

In order not to expose themselves and passengers on board to danger and fear, the crew of the aircraft must perform a number of important actions before departure:

• listen to information from the duty meteorologist about the upcoming weather conditions along the established route: cloudiness data, wind speed and direction, the presence of dangerous zones and ways to bypass them;
• receive a special bulletin containing information about the state of the atmosphere, the weather forecast along the route and at the landing site;
• if the flight is delayed by more than an hour and a half, the pilot must receive new information about the state of the weather.

However, the duties of the crew do not end there.

Additional terms of commitment

During the flight, the pilot must carefully monitor the weather, especially if the route passes near dangerous areas or worsening weather is expected soon. The attentiveness and professionalism of the navigator will allow you to correctly assess the state of the atmosphere and, in which case, make the right decision.

In addition, a few hundred kilometers before the landing point, an inquiry should be made about the meteorological situation at the aerodrome and the safety of the landing should be assessed.

The natural "opponent" of the flight

It's great when the flight takes place in a clear sunny weather. But if it snows or rains, and overboard low temperature? Here begins the icing of the body of the aircraft.

Ice, like armor, increases the weight of an aircraft, reducing its lift by several times and reducing engine power. If suddenly the crew captain, studying the meteorological situation, determined that the hull of the liner was covered with a crust, then a command comes to clean the ship. The processing of the aircraft is carried out. Moreover, attention is paid to the entire hull of the vessel, and not just the wings and nose.

Reliability above all

Thunderstorm or rain is a romantic phenomenon only in literature. Aviation considers a natural phenomenon as an emergency. The elements can bring great human casualties, so it is extremely important to approach flights with high accuracy and literacy. A flight in adverse conditions is a great responsibility and great worries not only for your life, but also for the life of hundreds of passengers.

Meteorological hazards are natural processes and phenomena that occur in the atmosphere under the influence of various natural factors or their combinations that have or may have a damaging effect on people, farm animals and plants, economic objects and the natural environment.

Wind - this is the movement of air parallel to the earth's surface, resulting from the uneven distribution of heat and atmospheric pressure and directed from a high pressure zone to a low pressure zone.

The wind is characterized by:
1. Wind direction - determined by the azimuth of the side of the horizon, from where
it blows, and is measured in degrees.
2. Wind speed - measured in meters per second (m/s; km/h; miles/hour)
(1 mile = 1609 km; 1 nautical mile = 1853 km).
3. Wind force - measured by the pressure that it exerts on 1 m2 of surface. The strength of the wind varies almost proportional to the speed,
therefore, the strength of the wind is often estimated not by pressure, but by speed, which simplifies the perception and understanding of these quantities.

Many words are used to indicate the movement of the wind: tornado, storm, hurricane, storm, typhoon, cyclone and many local names. To systematize them, all over the world use Beaufort scale, which allows you to very accurately estimate the strength of the wind in points (from 0 to 12) according to its effect on ground objects or on waves in the sea. This scale is also convenient in that it allows, according to the signs described in it, to fairly accurately determine the wind speed without instruments.

Beaufort scale (Table 1)

Breeze (light to strong breeze) sailors refer to the wind as having a speed of 4 to 31 miles per hour. In terms of kilometers (factor 1.6) it will be 6.4-50 km/h

Wind speed and direction determine weather and climate.

Strong winds, significant changes in atmospheric pressure and a large number of precipitation causes dangerous atmospheric whirlwinds (cyclones, storms, squalls, hurricanes) that can cause destruction and loss of life.

Cyclone is the general name for eddies with reduced pressure in the center.

An anticyclone is an area of ​​high pressure in the atmosphere with a maximum in the center. In the Northern Hemisphere, the winds in the anticyclone blow counterclockwise, and in the Southern Hemisphere - clockwise, in the cyclone the wind movement is reversed.

Hurricane - wind of destructive force and considerable duration, the speed of which is equal to or exceeds 32.7 m/s (12 points on the Beaufort scale), which is equivalent to 117 km/h (Table 1).
In half of the cases, the wind speed during a hurricane exceeds 35 m/s, reaching up to 40-60 m/s, and sometimes up to 100 m/s.

Hurricanes are classified into three types based on wind speed:
- Hurricane (32 m/s and more),
- strong hurricane (39.2 m/s or more)
- fierce hurricane (48.6 m/s and more).

Cause of these hurricane winds is the occurrence, as a rule, on the line of collision of the fronts of warm and cold air masses, powerful cyclones with a sharp pressure drop from the periphery to the center and with the creation of a vortex air flow moving in the lower layers (3-5 km) in a spiral towards the middle and up, in the northern hemisphere, counterclockwise.

Such cyclones, depending on the place of their occurrence and structure, are usually divided into:
- tropical cyclones found over warm tropical oceans, usually moves westward during formation, and curves poleward after formation.
A tropical cyclone that reaches unusual strength is called hurricane if he is born in the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas; typhoon - V pacific ocean or its seas; cyclone - in the region indian ocean.
mid-latitude cyclones can form both over land and over water. They usually move from west to east. A characteristic feature of such cyclones is their great "dryness". The amount of precipitation during their passage is much less than in the zone of tropical cyclones.
The European continent is affected by both tropical hurricanes that originate in the central Atlantic and cyclones of temperate latitudes.
Storm – a type of hurricane, but has a lower wind speed 15-31
m/sec.

The duration of storms is from several hours to several days, the width is from tens to several hundreds of kilometers.
Storms are divided into:

2. Stream storms – These are local phenomena of small distribution. They are weaker than whirlwinds. They are subdivided:
- stock - the air flow moves down the slope from top to bottom.
- Jet - characterized by the fact that the air flow moves horizontally or up the slope.
Stream storms pass most often between chains of mountains connecting valleys.
Depending on the color of the particles involved in the movement, black, red, yellow-red and white storms are distinguished.
Depending on the wind speed, storms are classified:
- storm 20 m/s and more
- strong storm 26 m/s and more
- severe storm of 30.5 m/s and more.

Squall – a sharp short-term increase in wind up to 20–30 m/s and higher, accompanied by a change in its direction associated with convective processes. Despite the short duration of squalls, they can lead to catastrophic consequences. Squalls in most cases are associated with cumulonimbus (thunderstorm) clouds, either local convection or a cold front. A squall is usually associated with heavy rainfall and thunderstorms, sometimes with hail. Atmospheric pressure during a squall rises sharply due to the rapid precipitation, and then falls again.

If possible, limit the area of ​​impact, all of the listed natural disasters are classified as non-localized.

Dangerous consequences of hurricanes and storms.

Hurricanes are one of the most powerful forces of the elements and, in their detrimental effect, are not inferior to such terrible natural disasters like earthquakes. This is due to the fact that hurricanes carry enormous energy. Its amount released by a hurricane of average power during 1 hour is equal to the energy of a nuclear explosion of 36 Mt. In one day, the amount of energy that would be enough to provide electricity to a country like the United States is released. And in two weeks (the average duration of the existence of a hurricane), such a hurricane releases energy equal to the energy of the Bratsk hydroelectric power station, which it can generate in 26 thousand years. The pressure in the hurricane zone is also very high. It reaches several hundred kilograms per square meter of a fixed surface located perpendicular to the direction of wind movement.

The hurricane destroys strong and demolishes light buildings, devastates sown fields, breaks wires and knocks down poles of power transmission and communication lines, damages highways and bridges, breaks and uproots trees, damages and sinks ships, causes accidents on utility networks, in production. There are cases when hurricane winds destroyed dams and dams, which led to large floods, threw trains off the rails, tore bridges off their supports, knocked down factory pipes, and threw ships onto land. Hurricanes are often accompanied by heavy downpours, which are more dangerous than the hurricane itself, as they cause mudflows and landslides.

Hurricanes vary in size. Usually, the width of the zone of catastrophic destruction is taken as the width of the hurricane. Often, the area of ​​storm force winds with relatively little damage is added to this zone. Then the width of the hurricane is measured in hundreds of kilometers, sometimes reaching 1000 km. For typhoons, the destruction zone is usually 15-45 km. The average duration of a hurricane is 9-12 days. Hurricanes occur at any time of the year, but most often from July to October. In the remaining 8 months they are rare, their paths are short.

The damage caused by a hurricane is determined by a whole complex of various factors, including the terrain, the degree of development and the strength of buildings, the nature of vegetation, the presence of population and animals in its zone of action, the time of year, preventive measures taken and a number of other circumstances, the main of which is velocity head of the air flow q, proportional to the product of the atmospheric air density and the square of the air flow velocity q = 0.5 pv 2.

According to building codes and regulations, the maximum normative value of wind pressure is q = 0.85 kPa, which, at an air density of r = 1.22 kg/m3, corresponds to wind speed.

For comparison, we can cite the calculated values ​​of the velocity head used for the design of nuclear power plants for the region Caribbean: for buildings of category I - 3.44 kPa, II and III - 1.75 kPa and for open installations - 1.15 kPa.

Every year, about a hundred powerful hurricanes march across the globe, causing destruction and often claiming human lives (Table 2). On June 23, 1997, a hurricane swept over most of the Brest and Minsk regions, as a result of which 4 people died and 50 were injured. IN Brest region was de-energized 229 settlements, 1071 substations were put out of action, roofs were torn off from 10-80% of residential buildings in more than 100 settlements, up to 60% of buildings of agricultural production were destroyed. In the Minsk region, 1,410 settlements were de-energized, hundreds of houses were damaged. Broken and uprooted trees in forests and forest parks. At the end of December 1999 from hurricane wind swept through Europe, Belarus also suffered. Power lines were cut, many settlements were de-energized. In total, 70 districts and more than 1,500 settlements were affected by the hurricane. Only in the Grodno region, 325 transformer substations failed, in the Mogilev region even more - 665.

table 2
Impact of some hurricanes

Tornado (tornado)- whirlwind movement of air, propagating in the form of a giant black column with a diameter of up to hundreds of meters, inside which there is a rarefaction of air, where various objects are drawn.

Tornadoes occur both over the water surface and over land, much more often than hurricanes. Very often they are accompanied by thunderstorms, hail and showers. The speed of air rotation in the dust column reaches 50-300 m/s and more. During its existence, it can travel up to 600 km - along a strip of terrain several hundred meters wide, and sometimes up to several kilometers, where destruction occurs. The air in the column rises in a spiral and draws in dust, water, objects, people.
Dangerous factors: buildings caught in a tornado due to a vacuum in the air column are destroyed from the pressure of air from the inside. It uproots trees, overturns cars, trains, lifts houses into the air, etc.

Tornadoes in Belarus occurred in 1859, 1927 and 1956.

Wind is the movement of air in a horizontal direction along the earth's surface. In which direction it blows depends on the distribution of pressure zones in the planet's atmosphere. The article deals with issues related to the speed and direction of the wind.

Perhaps, absolutely calm weather will be a rare phenomenon in nature, since you can constantly feel that a light breeze is blowing. Since ancient times, mankind has been interested in the direction of air movement, so the so-called weather vane or anemone was invented. The device is an arrow freely rotating on a vertical axis under the influence of wind force. She points his direction. If you determine the point on the horizon from which the wind blows, then the line drawn between this point and the observer will show the direction of air movement.

In order for an observer to convey information about the wind to other people, concepts such as north, south, east, west and their various combinations are used. Since the totality of all directions forms a circle, the verbal formulation is also duplicated by the corresponding value in degrees. For example, North wind means 0 o (the blue compass needle points due north).

The concept of the wind rose

Speaking about the direction and speed of movement of air masses, a few words should be said about the wind rose. It is a circle with lines showing how air flows. The first mention of this symbol was found in the books of the Latin philosopher Pliny the Elder.

The entire circle, reflecting the possible horizontal directions of the forward movement of air, is divided into 32 parts on the wind rose. The main ones are north (0 o or 360 o), south (180 o), east (90 o) and west (270 o). The resulting four parts of the circle are divided further, forming the northwest (315 o), northeast (45 o), southwest (225 o) and southeast (135 o). The resulting 8 parts of the circle are again divided in half each, which forms additional lines on the wind rose. Since the result is 32 lines, the angular distance between them is equal to 11.25 o (360 o /32).

Note that distinctive feature The wind rose is an image of a fleur-de-lis located above the north icon (N).

Where does the wind blow from?

Horizontal movements of large air masses are always carried out from areas of high pressure to areas of lower air density. At the same time, it is possible to answer the question of what wind speed is by examining the location on the geographical map of isobars, that is, wide lines within which air pressure is constant. The speed and direction of movement of air masses is determined by two main factors:

• The wind always blows from the areas where the anticyclone stands to the areas covered by the cyclone. This can be understood if we remember that in the first case we are talking about zones of high pressure, and in the second case - low pressure.
• Wind speed is in direct proportion to the distance that separates two adjacent isobars. Indeed, the greater this distance, the weaker the pressure drop will be felt (in mathematics they say a gradient), which means that the forward movement of air will be slower than in the case of small distances between isobars and large pressure gradients.

Factors affecting wind speed

One of them, and the most important one, has already been voiced above - this is the pressure gradient between neighboring air masses.

In addition, the average wind speed depends on the topography of the surface over which it blows. Any irregularities in this surface significantly hinder the forward movement of air masses. For example, everyone who has been in the mountains at least once should have noticed that the winds are weak at the foot. The higher you climb the mountainside, the stronger the wind is felt.

For the same reason, winds blow stronger over the sea than over land. It is often eroded by ravines, covered with forests, hills and mountain ranges. All these heterogeneities, which are not over the seas and oceans, slow down any gusts of wind.

High above the earth's surface (on the order of several kilometers) there are no obstacles to the horizontal movement of air, so the wind speed in the upper troposphere is high.

Another factor that is important to consider when talking about the speed of movement of air masses is the Coriolis force. It is generated due to the rotation of our planet, and since the atmosphere has inertial properties, any movement of air in it is deflected. Due to the fact that the Earth rotates from west to east around its own axis, the action of the Coriolis force leads to the deviation of the wind to the right in the northern hemisphere, and to the left in the southern.

Curiously, this effect of the Coriolis force, which is negligible at low latitudes (tropics), has a strong influence on the climate of these zones. The fact is that the slowdown in wind speed in the tropics and at the equator is compensated by an increase in updrafts. The latter, in turn, lead to the intense formation of cumulus clouds, which are sources of strong tropical showers.

Instrument for measuring wind speed

It is an anemometer, which consists of three cups located at an angle of 120 o relative to each other, and fixed on a vertical axis. The principle of operation of an anemometer is quite simple. When the wind blows, the cups experience its pressure and begin to rotate on the axis. The stronger the air pressure, the faster they spin. By measuring the speed of this rotation, one can accurately determine the wind speed in m/s (meters per second). Modern anemometers are equipped with special electrical systems that independently calculate the measured value.

The instrument of wind speed based on the rotation of the cups is not the only one. There is another simple tool called the pitot tube. This device measures the dynamic and static wind pressure, the difference between which can accurately calculate its speed.

Beaufort scale

Information about wind speed, expressed in meters per second or kilometers per hour, for most people - and especially for sailors - says little. Therefore, in the 19th century, the English admiral Francis Beaufort proposed to use some empirical scale for evaluation, which consists of a 12-point system.

The higher the Beaufort scale, the stronger the wind blows. For example:

• The number 0 corresponds to absolute calm. With it, the wind blows at a speed not exceeding 1 mph, that is, less than 2 km / h (less than 1 m / s).
• The middle of the scale (number 6) corresponds to a strong breeze, the speed of which reaches 40-50 km/h (11-14 m/s). Such a wind can lift big waves on the sea.
• The maximum on the Beaufort scale (12) is a hurricane whose speed exceeds 120 km/h (more than 30 m/s).

Major winds on planet Earth

They are usually classified into one of four types in the atmosphere of our planet:

• Global. They are formed as a result of the different ability of continents and oceans to heat up from the sun's rays.
• Seasonal. These winds change with the season of the year, which determines how much solar energy a certain area of ​​the planet receives.
• Local. They are associated with the features of the geographical location and topography of the area under consideration.
• Rotating. These are the strongest movements of air masses that lead to the formation of hurricanes.

Why is it important to study the winds?

In addition to the fact that information about wind speed is included in the weather forecast, which every inhabitant of the planet takes into account in his life, air movement plays an important role in a number of natural processes.

So, he is a carrier of plant pollen and is involved in the distribution of their seeds. In addition, wind is one of the main sources of erosion. Its destructive effect is most pronounced in deserts, when the terrain changes dramatically during the day.

It should also not be forgotten that the wind is the energy that people use in economic activity. According to general estimates, wind energy makes up about 2% of all solar energy falling on our planet.