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Ice storms

In today’s society there are differences in many communities. These communities are on both the east and west coast, and in the Midwest. The residents of these communities experience various weather climates ranging from warm temperatures to blizzards and ice storms.

why ice storms Happen?

        An ice storm happens when a warm air mass collides with a cold air mass. Many ice storms happen every year. They include cold temperatures, precipitation, and strong winds. The process of an ice storm is when some water vapor from the warm air condenses into clouds. Snowflakes fall from the clouds into the warm air and melts into raindrops. Th rain drops fall through a cold air layer near the ground and doesn't freeze thoroughly until it hits something colder that it. This can get up to 8 inches thick! Sleet is similar to frozen rain but it doesn't cause as severe damage. It can easily be shoveled off of sidewalks and streets.

  

   

v  Ice storms — also referred to as glaze storms — are common in valleys and foothills.

v  Ice accumulates when super-cold rain freezes on contact with surfaces, such as tree branches, that are below freezing point.

v  Throughout the U.S., ice storms occur most often during the months of December and January, usually during the coldest part of the day: sunrise.

v  Ice storms have the bizarre effect of entombing everything in the landscape with a glaze of ice so heavy that it can split trees in half and turn roads and pavements into lethal sheets of smooth, thick ice.

v  Branches or whole trees may break from the weight of ice. Fallen branches can block roadways, tear down power and telephone lines, and cause other serious and minor damage.

v  The weight of ice can easily snap power lines and break or bring down power/utility poles, leaving homes without power for anywhere from a day to a month.

v  According to most meteorologists, just one quarter of an inch of ice accumulation can add 500 pounds of weight per line span. Ice storms are capable of shutting down entire cities with damage.

v  Driving during an ice storm is extremely hazardous, because ice can cause vehicles to skid out of control, leading to devastating car crashes.

v  Pedestrians must be cautious as sidewalks become icy and it is easy to slip and fall. Stairways also become an extreme injury hazard once coated with ice.

  

Worst ice storms in history 

One of the damaging and costly ice storms in recent history struck North America in January, 1998. Phone and power lines collapsed, electricity pylons buckled, and 4 million people were left without power. 25 people were killed by falling ice or fires set by collapsing electrical units. The total damage cost around $1 billion.

The major ice storm that struck the Northeastern U.S. in December, 2008 left 1.25 million homes and businesses without power. In what was described as the worst storm of the decade, a state of emergency was declared in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and parts of Maine.

Winter Storm Pax: Power Outages Remain in South Carolina, Georgia

Winter Storm Pax has long since passed through the South, but some residents of Georgia and South Carolina are still in the dark following the storm.

About 100,000 utility customers have awoken to a fifth day without power in South Carolina.

New England 1921

one of the most prominent ice storm alleys in the U.S. is the interior Northeast, from northern Pennsylvania, central and upstate New York into New England.

In the days after Thanksgiving 1921, a four-day ice storm with accumulations over three inches in spots, crippled parts of New England, including the city of Worcester.

New Year's Eve 1978 (North Texas)

There have been many ice storms in Texas history.

Six inches of ice accumulated in parts of northwest Texas on Jan. 22-24, 1940, according to Weather Underground's Christopher Burt.

New Year's Eve 1978 was the worst ice storm in North Texas in three decades, producing ice accumulations up to 2 inches thick in a 100 mile-wide swath from just west of Waco to Paris, Texas.

January 2000 (Atlanta)

The timing couldn't have been worse, and the impact of this ice storm continues to this day in Atlanta.

The week before Super Bowl XXXIV, an ice storm left half a million customers without power, some for more than a week. Just days later, another winter storm hit Atlanta on Super Bowl weekend.

New Year's 1961 (Northern Idaho)

The most destructive ice storms feature heavy ice accumulation, sometimes on the order of several inches, that, when combined with strong winds, bring down trees and power lines, plunge hundreds of thousands into the dark sometimes for several days.

Human Brain Great Forever

The human brain is the greatest absorption of complexity that is in the physical universe. It is a communication center such as a video camera and storage library. The more the brain is used then the better it retains knowledge. One ongoing area of research includes the functions of the left and right hemispheres. These halves are mirror images and are joined by millions of nerve fibers which are called corpus callosum. The left side of a body is mainly controlled by the right brain and right side of the body controlled by the left brain hemisphere. Each hemisphere has a duty to control language, problem solving, visual controls, and artistic ideas. Each is a backup for the other just in case one was to get injured. The brain continues to evolve in the right hemisphere where creativity generates while the left focuses on logical reasoning.The brain provides the definitive design which challenges evolution.

The brain is able to perform very remarkable tasks. Over the last couple of decades artificial intelligence has tried to mimic the human brain. Despite the incredible speed of a computer and their memory, computers still struggle to imitate the brain. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science that strains to narrow the gap. There have been ups and downs in the technology. Unfortunately there is no way to mimic over 20 billion neurons, but there are now several things that can replicate it with less firepower. When breaking down the brain into simple terms it is just series of inputs and outputs just like a computer. AI has a series of binary form and mathematical algorithms that can now replicate intelligence. AI has made the way into everyday products which most people do not even realize. A recent example is the ability for cameras to be able to detect faces in a shot and focus on that face. A fairly recent remarkable feature is the iphone 4s with Siri technology. This application allows a user with daily tasks, voice commands and intelligent responses. One might forget that he or she is just talking to a computer. Technologies such as these are evolving every year and one day might crack the duplication of the human brain.

Scientists have started to imagine the possibilities: They could invent new forms of industrial machinery, create fully autonomous thinking cars, devise new kinds of home appliances. A new project in Europe hopes to create a computer brain just that powerful in the next ten years -- and it's incredibly well-funded. computers that fast simply haven't been invented yet.The Human Brain Project kicks off  7 Oct 2013 at a conference in Switzerland. Over the next 10 years, about 80 science institutions and at least 20 government entities in Europe will figure out how to make that computer brain. The project will cost about $1.6B in U.S. dollars.

Though there is much progression in technology just over the horizon the advancement of machines still have limitations and hindrances.

Let us see how the brain and the computer are similar and different

Throughout history, people have compared the brain to different inventions. In the past, the brain has been said to be like a water clock and a telephone switchboard. These days, the favorite invention that the brain is compared to is a computer. Some people use this comparison to say that the computer is better than the brain; some people say that the comparison shows that the brain is better than the computer. Perhaps, it is best to say that the brain is better at doing some jobs and the computer is better at doing other jobs.

Similarity

ü       Both use electrical sig nals to send messages.
ü      Both transmit information.
ü      Both have a memory that can grow.
ü      Both can adapt and learn.

Difference
 §   The brain uses chemicals to transmit information; the computer uses electricity. Even though            electrical signals travel at high speeds in the nervous system, they travel even faster through the  wires in a computer.

•        computer uses switches that are either on or off ("binary"). In a way, neurons in the brain are either on or off by either firing an action potential or not firing an action potential. However, neurons are more than just on or off because the "excitability" of a neuron is always changing. This is because a neuron is constantly getting information from other cells through synaptic contacts. Information traveling across a synapse does NOT always result in a action potential. Rather, this information alters the chance that an action potential will be produced by raising or lowering the threshold of the neuron.
• §        Computer memory grows by adding computer chips. Memories in the brain grow by stronger synaptic connections.

• §         It is much easier and faster for the brain to learn new things. Yet, the computer can do many complex tasks at the same time ("multitasking") that are difficult for the brain. For example, try counting backwards and multiplying 2 numbers at the same time. However, the brain also does some multitasking using the autonomic nervous system. For example, the brain controls breathing, heart rate and blood pressure at the same time it performs a mental task.

  §    §      The human brain has weighed in at about 3 pounds for about the last 100,000 years. Computers have evolved much faster than the human brain. Computers have been around for only a few decades, yet rapid technological advancements have made computers faster, smaller and more powerful.

  §    §     The brain needs nutrients like oxygen and sugar for power; the computer needs electricity to keep working.

  §    §     It is easier to fix a computer - just get new parts. There are no new or used parts for the brain. However, some work is being done with transplantation of nerve cells for certain neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease. Both a computer and a brain can get "sick" - a computer can get a "virus" and there are many diseases that affect the brain. The brain has "built-in back up systems" in some cases. If one pathway in the brain is damaged, there is often another pathway that will take over this function of the damaged pathway.

  §     The brain is always changing and being modified. There is no "off" for the brain - even when an animal is sleeping, its brain is still active and working. The computer only changes when new hardware or software is added or something is saved in memory. There IS an "off" for a computer. When the power to a computer is turned off, signals are not transmitted.

  §    §    The computer is faster at doing logical things and computations. However, the brain is better at interpreting the outside world and coming up with new ideas. The brain is capable of imagination.

  §    §    Scientists understand how computers work. There are thousands of neuroscientists studying the brain. Nevertheless, there is still much more to learn about the brain. "There is more we do NOT know about the brain, than what we do know about the brain".