Word: vaporous
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...joint Commerce and Defense departments project-hoped to diminish the hurricane's awesome power, equivalent to the wallop of 400 20-megaton hydrogen bombs. Literally a huge heat engine, a hurricane is formed by spirals of warm, moist air rising from tropical seas. As the heat-packed vapor spins increasingly faster, it converges toward the eye of the storm and is forced upward; meanwhile within the eye, the temperature rises and pressure drops. Acting like a chimney, the walls of the warm vortex continue to refuel themselves and add to the storm's fury by drawing still more...
...poured at-259°F. A tank pressure of 70 lbs. per square inch forces the liquid into a combination pressure regulator and heat exchanger. The heated gas is then mixed with air in the carburetor and flows into the cylinders, where it burns more completely than ordinary gasoline vapor...
...minutes after the somber procession began, however, the angry mountain responded with another explosion of hot vapor and clouds of sand. To those at the scene the outburst sounded like the beginning of the Apocalypse...
...been known since 1839. Pratt & Whitney also designed the fuel cells used in Apollo flights. But the specific and well-financed proposal to employ them en masse is new. For environmentalists, Powercel would deliver power with a plus: the only waste products of its chemical reaction are harmless water vapor, carbon dioxide, and a little heat. Its on-site use would eliminate unsightly power lines as well as the complex network of power plants, substations and generators...
...other major astronomy center, Tucson, Ariz., but astronomers there are already worrying about the glowing threat. The area's five major observatories-including Kitt Peak, which expects to unveil a 150-in. telescope next year-recently petitioned the town fathers to shield and filter all mercury-vapor street lamps, ban all but essential searchlights, and pave roads with blacktop instead of lighter, reflective concrete. Aware of the observatories' contributions to the local economy, the Tucson councilmen agreed to consider the requests...