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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
How snow making works
By
Marshall Brain
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | (MCT)
Let's imagine that you are standing at the top of a phenomenal black diamond ski run. As you look down the hill, a mile-long runway of beautiful, clean, fluffy snow stretches like a white carpet toward the ski lodge at the bottom.
But when you look to either side of the trail, there may be no snow at all. Even in the "heart of winter," nature can be fickle. Malibu may be seeing snow flurries for the first time in 20 years, but some ski slopes haven't had a flake.
In other words, the ribbon of snow you see at the ski slope may be completely artificial. The whole thing is created at night using snow guns, specialized snow bulldozers and a big lake of water in the valley.
There's even some dead bacteria thrown in to help the process. The technology that makes this all possible is absolutely fascinating.
The first thing you need is the right weather. It's got to be cold to make snow, and we still depend on nature for freezing temperatures.
Fortunately, despite the worries about global warming, it usually gets cold enough in the mountains to make snow at night. Temperatures in the teens are perfect. But if the humidity is low enough, you can make snow at 30 degrees Fahrenheit.
Next you need a lake full of H2O. Covering a ski slope takes a gigantic amount of water. If you think about it for a minute, you can see why. To blanket one acre of slope in 1 inch of snow, you need about 12,000 gallons of water. A good size ski run may measure 30 acres or more from top to bottom. And a ski run needs at least a foot of snow to be credible for skiing. So, just for a single run, you have to pump more than 4 million gallons of water up the hill - enough to fill 300 backyard swimming pools. A big ski resort can burn through 10,000 gallons of water every minute when it is making snow.
Lots of ski resorts add something called a nucleator to the water. When water forms into ice, a nucleator speeds up the process by giving each ice crystal a seed to start on. Using a nucleator, you can make snow in warmer temperatures. One popular brand of nucleator is called Snomax, which is made from dead bacteria cells. They grow the bacteria in giant vats, freeze-dry their little bodies and then zap them with nuclear radiation to make sure they are sterile before shipping them off to ski slopes.
I know what you are thinking: "Bacteria to make snow?" Turns out that some species of bacteria (Pseudomonas syringae is one of them) have special ice-nucleation proteins on their outer cell walls.
All of that nucleated water feeds into the snow guns. The simplest gun is nothing more than a lawn sprinkler and a huge fan. The sprinkler atomizes the water, and the fan blows enough cold air through the droplets to freeze them. More sophisticated guns use giant air compressors and then shoot the compressed air through the water to atomize and freeze it.
Now that you've made all this snow, you have to put it in the right places. That's where the snow groomers come in. A groomer is really just a specialized snow bulldozer that can push artificial snow around. They have very wide metal tracks so they can move up and down the mountain easily, even when things get icy. For the really steep black diamond trails, a winch can help pull the groomer up the hill.
As you might imagine, all of this pumping and blowing uses a lot of electricity. Some resorts burn through so much juice that they actually build their own power plants. The HoliMont ski resort near Buffalo, N.Y., has a plant that produces 3.5 megawatts. And this gets us to an important point about making artificial snow. The snow that nature brings is absolutely free. To make snow artificially you need to pay for electricity, nucleators, equipment, maintenance and people. Those costs can really add up.
All of which means that, whenever the real white stuff falls from the sky for free, it makes the owners of ski resorts very, very happy. As long as there is not too much of it.
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© 2007, How Stuff Works Inc. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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