Whats the difference between a blizzard and an Avalanche?
An avalanche is a large slide of snow (or rock) down a mountainside. It is caused when a buildup of snow is released down a slope. Where as... A blizzard is a severe winter storm characterized by low temperatures (below freezing), strong winds (over 35 miles per hour), and heavy blowing snow (reducing visability to less than a quarter of a mile), all lasting for three or more hours.
What is the difference between rockslides and rock avalanche?
i would simply put it at a diffence in level of chaotic flow. a slide tends to be cohesive. an avalanche is quite chaotic. That is, in a slide the rock material tends to move as a mass, whereas in an avalanche the particles tend to move individually. Obviously there is a gray zone between the two extreme conditions.
Why are debris flows more dangerous then debris avalanches?
Avalanches are unstable debris piles that soon resettle. Debris flows are mixed with water and can race down one side of a mountain and continue over the top of a smaller ridge on the other side of the valley.
How the zener breakdown and avalanche breakdown of p-n junction occurs ?
When the reverse bias of the PN junction is made too high, the current increases abruptly. The vge at which this occurs is known as breakdown vge. when reverse bias is high, electric field at the junction increases and causes covalent bonds to break. Thus a large number of carriers are generated & causes a large current flow. This is zener breakdown(upto 4V) When the increased electric field causes increase in the velocities of minority carriers, they break covalent bonds & generate a lot of carriers. Thus a large current flows. This is avalanche breakdown(occurs in voltages >6V)
What is avalanche breakdown?
If you increase the voltage between two conducting plates , with some conductor like air between them, then at some stage an electron will be torn loose from the negative plate. It will be dragged towards the +ve plate at high speed and knock other electrons loose, which will in turn knock out other electrons from other atoms... and you'll get a spark, carrying a heavy current. Just like tossing a pebble on a snow slope and starting an avalanche.
What is the difference between a pyroclastic flow and nuee ardente?
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, they are the same, except that one is English (via Latin) and one is French. "One feared phenomenon accompanying some explosive eruptions is the nuée ardente, or pyroclastic flow, a fluidized mixture of hot gas and incandescent particles that sweeps down a volcano's flanks, incinerating everything in its path." However, there is an alternative interpretation: "A glowing cloud or Nuée Ardente is a gas-generated eruptive phenomenon consisting of two parts. 1) glowing avalanche (lower denser part) 2) lighter fraction of volcanic gases, ash, and dust which cauliflowers upwards. A nuée ardente consists of two parts where a pyroclastic flow only relates to the lower glowing avalanche." That view is supported by San Diego State University: "A pyroclastic flow is a fluidized mixture of solid to semi-solid fragments and hot, expanding gases that flows down the flank of a volcanic edifice. These awesome features are heavier-than-air emulsions that move much like a snow avalanche, except that they are fiercely hot, contain toxic gases, and move at phenomenal, hurricane-force speeds, often over 100 km/hour. Although the term nuée ardente is now applied to all pyroclastic flows generated by dome collapse, it is somewhat of a misnomer to describe these features as a "glowing cloud." A more precise term would be glowing avalanche. The bulk of these hot block-and-ash flows hug the ground surface, but are disguised by an overlying cloud of fine ash particles... Nuée ardentes, therefore, are composed of two related parts: a pyroclastic avalanche largely hidden from view by an overlying ash cloud..."