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Inside a Tornado

This clip explores the properties of a tornado that has been created in laboratory conditions. Clip starts with an explanation of how tornados cause damage – it’s the speed of the spinning within the tornado, rather than the speed and direction of the whole tornado. The main cause of damage in a tornado is from the debris carried by the phenomena. Richard visits a tornado wind tunnel at the WindEE Research Institute in order to demonstrate how the speed of rotation can be modelled within loose scientific conditions. This clip considers the effects of tornados before demonstrating how the speed of a tornado alters through a cross-section. Tackles the misconception that tornados ‘suck up’ everything in their path. Two versions of the experiment are performed, the first with table tennis balls was less successful.

Release date:

Duration:

8 minutes