Boom Boom!

Thunder here in Rome, is loudest thunder I have heard before in my life. I woke my roommate up in the middle of the night because I thought the Vatican was getting bombed it was so outrageously loud. The next morning, I decided to do some research on what exactly is the cause of thunder is and how it is formed. This is what I learned (warning may be boring to some but I think it is really cool!) Thunder is the acoustic shock wave resulting from the extreme heat generated by a lightning flash. Lightning can be as hot as 54,000°F (30,000°C), a temperature that is five times the surface of the sun! When lightning occurs, it heats the air surrounding its channel to that same incredible temperature in a fraction of a second. Like all gases, when air molecules are heated, they expand. The faster they are heated, the faster their rate of expansion. But when air is heated to 54,000°F in a fraction of a second, a phenomenon known as "explosive expansion" occurs. This is where air expands so rapidly that it compresses the air in front of it, forming a shock wave similar to a sonic boom. Exploding fireworks produce a similar result. When lightning strikes a shock wave is generated at each point along the path of the lightning bolt. With nearby lightning strikes the thunder will sound like a loud bang, crack or snap and its duration will be very short. As the shock wave propagates away from the strike center, it stretches, diminishes, and becomes elongated. Then other shock waves from more distance locations arrive at the listener. At large distances from the center, the shock wave (thunder) can be many miles across. To the listener, the combination of shock waves gives thunder the continuous rumble we hear. In addition, the temperature of the atmosphere affects the thunder sound you hear as well as how far away you can hear it. Sound waves move faster in warm air than they do in cool air.

Today, the sun is out again and I just have my economics and history classes to attend too. After, my roommate Tara, is in a photography class and one of her projects is to have a photo model shoot and she asked me to do it for her. So after class I am going to the studio to help her out. She is a really talented photographer and always notices cool reflections and lighting on objects (things I never notice) just when we are walking around.

Tomorrow, I am leaving for Prague for the weekend and will not be returning until Monday. Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic. Recently, I have been doing research on Prague and plan to visit the Wenceslas Square, Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, Dancing Building, Prague Cathedral, Old Town Square, TV Tower and the Vyshedhard. On Saturday night I will be attending a Prada fashion show event. I am also really excited to try some Czech food. In my research I have found Czechs like sugar in just about everything, it seems. Sauces, gravies, and salad dressings are uncommonly sweet. A common meal for children is noodles, with loads of sugar, ground poppy seeds and melted butter. Coming from the girl who likes to eat candy for breakfast I am naturally unopposed to this sugar craze. I am also looking forward to some good sausage. The weather is going to be extremely cold so I am going to pack smart with warm clothes.

In my book Eat, Pray, Love I finished the section on India. I think Elizabeth Gilbert is a beautiful writer and I am always able to pull away some favorite quotes from every chapter. I have two favorite quotes from the section on India. The first is "Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions." Secondly, which is my absolute favorite is "Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be." That’s all for now and Na shledanou! (goodbye in Czech). The picture above is at a flower stand right next to my house that I pass by everyday and it is always so pretty. The other day I was wearing a flower dress so I decided to take a picture!