THERMODYNAMICS

When there’s nothing else to write about, as a last resort you can fall back on the weather. I’ve observed weather ‘round the clock, everywhere I’ve been, all my life. But people do love to talk about it. With weather there is no controversy, no arguments other than maybe who got the most rain or whose tongue it was that froze to the pole. You are stuck with what you get. You can go somewhere else but then you’re stuck with the weather there. I like the way weather works. It’s just air and moisture and energy from the sun. I went to summer school in 1991, 4 week - 6 credit Geology/Meteorology program for science teachers. It was in the Missouri Ozarks where canoeing and fishing were great and we had weather every day. Most of what we did was hands-on field trips and laboratory exercises but the meteorology syllabus included 4 sessions in the classroom with an old, impatient, no nonsense professor who would bring us up to speed on thermodynamics. 

I saw a movie where the protagonist (John Travolta) had to get a Portuguese dictionary, drive 5 miles, studying as he drove and speak fluent Portuguese when he arrived; and he got it right the first try. His ability to do that was the heart of the plot but the idea is about as absurd as learning thermodynamics in 4 hours. Several of us went to Dr. Elifrits, the Program Director saying, “If our grade hangs on this test we might as well go home now.” He laughed, reassured us, “This is jumping through hoops to satisfy National Science Foundation grant requirements.” I got 30% on the exam. With the curve that came out an A-. If you want to be the weather man on TV, it usually requires a degree in meteorology. If a meteorology major washes out it’s usually thermodynamics that kicks him under the bus; some really serious math and physics. Afterward, eating at the local Cracker Barrel, Dr. Elifrits rationalized, “You couldn’t survive that thrashing and not learn something that will serve you well.” I did learn a lot of meteorology and I appreciate thermodynamics. I have the principle down pat but the math is still over my head and the physics is just an excuse to do more math. 

April, the month we usually get severe weather was pretty tame but you know Murphy’s 2nd Law: Pay me now or pay me later, but later costs more. The price for a warm, sunny day in January is two cold, stormy days in May. I expect plenty of flash and boom in May. Last nigh we dodged a bullet. A line of severe weather came shooting up through Oklahoma and Kansas with Kansas City in the crosshairs. I followed it on my cell phone, radar ap. From my front step, far off in the southwest I saw lightning flashes and felt delayed, rumbling thunder. The red band on the radar, rushing toward us made me think of the Tokyo Express. In WW2, during the battles for the Solomon Islands the Japanese sent supplies and reinforcements in by night on fast, heavily armed ships. American forces called it the Tokyo Express, with guns flashing and rumbling. Our fighters and bombers couldn’t fly at night so we were left with a meager array of submarines, torpedo boats and destroyers to get in their way. We won the war but never could stop the Tokyo Express. There were high winds last night and a few isolated funnels but I only got half an inch of rain. 

Today is a new day and down south, another line of storms is headed this way. In an hour or so we should get more flash and rumble but the daytime stuff isn’t so dramatic. The radar image is just as grim but power outage in daylight isn’t so disarming. My generator really does the job and I have a long extension cord. So we dodged one bullet. Today is still unfolding and the forecast is for another line,(Tokyo Express) on the way for later tonight and tomorrow. If it’s a test, I’m ready as I can be. The short answer is, PV = k “Thermodynamics.”