(Replying to PARENT post)

So it's like that old picture of the grass straw driven through the telephone pole by nothing but hurricane wind?

The flimsy straw could do it simply because of how fast it was moving. The strength of the straw doesn't matter, simply it's mass, moving that fast, carries itself through, ie the leading edge is not being pushed from behind like a nail, more like a bullet with a string attached?

Setting aside the simplification, that probably the mass of the rest of the straw does play some part not absolutely zero, is that a reasonable way to conceptualize it?

👤Brian_K_White🕑3y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

Are you certain that a hurricane can blow a straw through a telephone pole? I hadn't heard of this phenomenon and was interested. I was unable to find a good source.

According to this article, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association thinks it's not possible:

https://www.livescience.com/39270-tornado-straw-into-tree-wo...

(Alternative explanation in the article: the tree twists during the hurricane, cracks temporarily open, and debris gets stuck in the cracks.)

👤foucalt-apathy🕑3y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

Yes, that's reasonable. By the time the jet hits the target the explosive provides no motive force whatsoever: it's purely a momentum game.
👤chemeril🕑3y🔼0🗨️0