The Heart of the Hurricane's Heat Engine

摘要

Most of us are familiar with heat engines, which include a car's motor, the gas turbine of a jet aircraft, and the old-time steam engines that powered the first ships and locomotives. Based on a few simple thermodynamic principles, these engines release heat energy contained in a fuel, and this heat is used by the engine to perform work. Hurricanes embody a thermodynamic "engine" of sorts. Their fuel source is water vapor evaporated from the warm ocean. The warm, upper layer of the ocean can be likened to a gigantic fuel tank. Instead of internal combustion, condensation.occurs inside giant thunderclouds.