Doug Jones, <random@qnet.com>, writes:
> There was a science fact article in Analog a coupla years back, in which it
> was suggested to build very tall "cooling towers" (~7000 m tall by 2000 m
> diameter) which would produce strong updrafts, including cloud formation
> and precipitation inside. The rain would be captured for potable water
> use, the winds tapped by turbines, and the sea surface for many km around
> cooled by evaporation, thus removing the power source for hurricanes.
I ask because I have seen claims that towers would, in and of themselves, produce cool air updrafts because as the air rises it expands, hence it cools. However this does not work, because the same effects occur in the atmosphere outside the towers, which is why mountains are cooler than valleys. So I wonder if these cooling towers in Analog had some other principle in mind.
Hal