Hurricane calculation help

[Bossbrosish]

How would I calculate to see how much energy it takes to create a category 5 Hurricane around that stretches 1242.742 miles or 2,000 kilometers and also destroy it?

 

[Mudducky04]

# Hurricane Energy Calculations

## Initial Parameters (Triple Checked)
1. Hurricane Dimensions:
- Diameter = 2,000 km = 2,000,000 m ✓
- Radius = 1,000,000 m ✓
- Height ≈ 15,000 m (troposphere height) ✓

## Constants

• Air density (ρ) = 1.225 kg/m³ at sea level ✓
• Water density = 1,000 kg/m³ at standard temperature ✓
• Latent heat of vaporization = 2.26 × 10⁶ J/kg at standard pressure ✓
• Specific heat of air = 1,005 J/kg·K ✓

### 1. Volume Calculation
V = πr²h

• V = π × (1,000,000 m)² × 15,000 m
• V = 3.14159 × (1 × 10¹²) × 1.5 × 10⁴
• V = 4.71 × 10¹⁶ m³ ✓

### 2. Wind Energy
E = ½ × ρ × V × v²

• v = 70 m/s (Category 5 minimum)
• Consider average wind speed throughout volume
• E = 0.5 × 1.225 × (4.71 × 10¹⁶) × (70²)
• E = 1.42 × 10²⁰ Joules ✓

### 3. Thermal Energy
Temperature differential needs adjustment:
E = ρ × V × c × ΔT

• More realistic ΔT = 3°C (less extreme)
• E = 1.225 × (4.71 × 10¹⁶) × 1,005 × 3
• E = 1.73 × 10²⁰ Joules

### 4. Latent Heat Energy
E = ρwater × V × water_ratio × Lvap

• Using 1% water vapor content
• E = 1,000 × (4.71 × 10¹⁶) × 0.01 × (2.26 × 10⁶)
• E = 1.06 × 10²² Joules

### 5. Total Energy
Total Energy = Wind Energy + Thermal Energy + Latent Heat Energy

• E = 1.42 × 10²⁰ + 1.73 × 10²⁰ + 1.06 × 10²²
• E ≈ 1.09 × 10²² Joules

### 6. Megaton TNT Conversion
1 Megaton TNT = 4.184 × 10¹⁵ Joules

• Megatons = 1.09 × 10²² ÷ (4.184 × 10¹⁵)
• ≈ 2.60 × 10⁶ Megatons TNT

Should be around here if I’m on the right track

 

[Bossbrosish]

# Hurricane Energy Calculations

## Initial Parameters (Triple Checked)
1. Hurricane Dimensions:
- Diameter = 2,000 km = 2,000,000 m ✓
- Radius = 1,000,000 m ✓
- Height ≈ 15,000 m (troposphere height) ✓

## Constants

• Air density (ρ) = 1.225 kg/m³ at sea level ✓
• Water density = 1,000 kg/m³ at standard temperature ✓
• Latent heat of vaporization = 2.26 × 10⁶ J/kg at standard pressure ✓
• Specific heat of air = 1,005 J/kg·K ✓

### 1. Volume Calculation
V = πr²h

• V = π × (1,000,000 m)² × 15,000 m
• V = 3.14159 × (1 × 10¹²) × 1.5 × 10⁴
• V = 4.71 × 10¹⁶ m³ ✓

### 2. Wind Energy
E = ½ × ρ × V × v²

• v = 70 m/s (Category 5 minimum)
• Consider average wind speed throughout volume
• E = 0.5 × 1.225 × (4.71 × 10¹⁶) × (70²)
• E = 1.42 × 10²⁰ Joules ✓

### 3. Thermal Energy
Temperature differential needs adjustment:
E = ρ × V × c × ΔT

• More realistic ΔT = 3°C (less extreme)
• E = 1.225 × (4.71 × 10¹⁶) × 1,005 × 3
• E = 1.73 × 10²⁰ Joules

### 4. Latent Heat Energy
E = ρwater × V × water_ratio × Lvap

• Using 1% water vapor content
• E = 1,000 × (4.71 × 10¹⁶) × 0.01 × (2.26 × 10⁶)
• E = 1.06 × 10²² Joules

### 5. Total Energy
Total Energy = Wind Energy + Thermal Energy + Latent Heat Energy

• E = 1.42 × 10²⁰ + 1.73 × 10²⁰ + 1.06 × 10²²
• E ≈ 1.09 × 10²² Joules

### 6. Megaton TNT Conversion
1 Megaton TNT = 4.184 × 10¹⁵ Joules

• Megatons = 1.09 × 10²² ÷ (4.184 × 10¹⁵)
• ≈ 2.60 × 10⁶ Megatons TNT

Should be around here if I’m on the right track

Ah I see now, thanks! Any idea how I would go about calculating destroying it or would it be around the same total energy?

 

[Mudducky04]

Destroying a hurricane would require roughly the same amount of energy that sustains it - about 1.09 × 10²² Joules. Think of it like trying to stop a massive spinning top - you need enough opposing force to counteract its rotation. You would need to counter each of the hurricane's energy systems: disrupting the wind rotation, neutralizing the temperature differences that drive it, and most importantly, interrupting its water vapor cycle which contains the bulk of its energy. The tricky part is that you can't just throw this energy at it randomly - you would need to apply it precisely to counteract each of the hurricane's systems, otherwise you might actually make it stronger. For perspective, this amount of energy is equivalent to about 2.6 million megatons of TNT, or roughly 52,000 of the largest nuclear bombs ever created.

 

[Bossbrosish]

Destroying a hurricane would require roughly the same amount of energy that sustains it - about 1.09 × 10²² Joules. Think of it like trying to stop a massive spinning top - you need enough opposing force to counteract its rotation. You would need to counter each of the hurricane's energy systems: disrupting the wind rotation, neutralizing the temperature differences that drive it, and most importantly, interrupting its water vapor cycle which contains the bulk of its energy. The tricky part is that you can't just throw this energy at it randomly - you would need to apply it precisely to counteract each of the hurricane's systems, otherwise you might actually make it stronger. For perspective, this amount of energy is equivalent to about 2.6 million megatons of TNT, or roughly 52,000 of the largest nuclear bombs ever created.

Oh, I see. Thanks!