i'm bored. i know that i probably shouldn't be, but i am. i guess that's what comes out of studying 24/7 for the past week of my life. however, having the burnt-out syndrome isn't exactly what you would cheer for, especially since i've got 3 papers consecutively on monday. plus, i absolutely have to get As for both of them - they are my best.

so right now, in order to incorporate boredom AND studying, i will post up the wonderous formation of a tropical typhoon, so everyone can gain that extra speckle of knowledge. which, i say, is pretty useless. but should anyone be blown away by the typhoon any other jolly day, at least you'll know how that 'monstrous apparition' came about.

and, apparently, the spirit of julius caesar is still lingering...

THE FORMATION OF A TROPICAL TYPHOON (or hurricane, or willy-willy, or that great big swirl of wind)

Tropical cyclones are formed over seas of above 27 degrees celsius in the inter-tropical convergence zone, where the warm moist northeast trades and cooler winds meet and are uplifted. The rapid evaporation of water vapor result in the formation of a low pressure zone. As the air rises, the condensation that occurs releases latent heat, which warms the air up and causes more evaporation, and in turn, lowers the pressure of the region further, and draws in more moist air from the sea. The resultant formation are cumulonimbus clouds which produce torrential rain and thunderstorms.

The cyclone consists of the eye in the center vortex and back vortex where winds spiral rapidly upwards to form cumulonimbus clouds and heavy rain. Centrifugal force prevents the spiralling winds in the vortex from getting into the eye, resulting in an calm area of high temperature and intense low pressure. The vortex can extend from 16 to 32 kilometers in diameter and the dry weather experienced is caused by the descending air. The low pressure of the center of the vortex can be as low as 960 millibars, and the speed of the winds at the tail and the end of the typhoon can go from 120 km/hr to as high as 200km/h. (which, in turn, means that if you get caught in one of those, chances are you're dead)