The Cone Of Silence
What is the Cone Of Silence ? I did not understand the significance of that term in the context it was used.
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MovieChat Forums > Twister (1996) Discussion > The Cone Of Silence
It may have been a reference to the old "Get Smart" television series. The show featured a "cone of silence" which affected sound (although not in the way the characters wanted).
"I'm not reckless . . . I'm skillful!"
Wikipedia says a weather related cone of silence is the area adjacent to the radar that's too close to measure.
I would imagine she called out "cone of silence" when they were real close to the tornado and the equipment on board would be unable to gather data.
But seeing as their whole plan was to put the thingamabob right into the tornado, it doesn't make much sense.
Let me try it again...
A traditional radar rotates from its position on the ground, on a tower, or in their case if I'm not mistaken, from the back of a truck.
It rotates continuously 360 degrees painting a picture of a circle with the radar in the center. In addition to the horizontal, the radar waves are sent out vertically, but to a given angle, not straight up. This creates a blind spot that is conical in shape because of the rotation.
This blind spot in radar-speak is dubbed the cone of silence.
That seemed so much easier to explain before I started typing.
I vaguely remember the scene, but I THINK that's what she was referring to.
God, you're all dense. Especially the one with the Get Smart reference.. Really?
He says 'The cone is silent'. As in the tornado dissipated.
'The cone of silence' means absolutely nothing in the field. It does not correspond to any feature of any mesocyclone storm that would produce sudden calm (like the eye of a hurricane, for example), because there is no such feature. It only refers to a Doppler radar site's "blind spot" directly above it, 30 degrees from vertical in all directions. And unless they were right at the actual radar site - where the big white bubble antenna dome is, they would not have been anywhere near the cone of silence. The computers were depicted displaying data from the national NEXRAD network, not their onboard equipment.
No need to be condescending. It is very difficult to tell whether he's saying "cone of silence" or the "cone is silent". In the theater, with the loud blasting of the speakers, I heard "the cone of silence." I have heard it on my home theater system. Some people insist it's "the cone is silent", but either way, apparently the former term is considered valid by those in the meteorology field.
http://www.koco.com/weather/what-is-the-cone-of-silence/21014286
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-05-10/features/9605100453_1_tornadoes-storm-chasers-storm-cellar
So be nice.
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-= J =-
Pastor J.... that is what I was getting at too.
As for the angry poster above... wtf?
Yes, I know "cone of silence" is a valid term. I know exactly what it means. And he absolutely DID NOT SAY IT, because it makes ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE IN THAT CONTEXT. NOBODY - except a moron - would say it as if it were a 'feature' of a mesocyclone.
So go screw yourself. That's me being nice.
Eh, I disagree, and since you're just a random person on the internet, I'll give your recommendation the due consideration it deserves. ;)
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-= J =-
<No need to be condescending. It is very difficult to tell whether he's saying "cone of silence" or the "cone is silent". In the theater, with the loud blasting of the speakers, I heard "the cone of silence." I have heard it on my home theater system. Some people insist it's "the cone is silent", but either way,... >
Exactly...No need at all. Wow, I hardly ever frequent the message boards but people can really be cruel here! Never quite seen anything like it.
Anyway, now that THAT rant is over, I always thought he said "The cone is silent", in reference to the stillness and quietness in the air after the twister dissipated. And he was referring to the tornado as a "cone".
However, in all fairness, if you ever watch the movie with subtitles on, in that scene it says that he is saying "The cone OF silence", which doesn't make a whole lotta sense to me, I just figured it was some meteorological phrase, as head-scratching to me as when Bowzer says "That's no moon...it's a Space Station!!!" (what the hell does THAT mean anyway??)
Of course, we all know subtitle can be wrong, and on this DVD I saw several times the subtitles were flat out wrong, so he wasn't necessarily saying "the cone of silence" just cuz the subtitles said so.
Very true. It's just one of those things that can be heard both ways. In the grand scheme of things, it isn't much, or worth worrying over. Preacher does crack me up, especially when he turns up the radio in the station wagon, and it's just drowned out by everything else. :D
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-= J =-
as head-scratching to me as when Bowzer says "That's no moon...it's a Space Station!!!" (what the hell does THAT mean anyway??)
It's a Star Wars reference. And it's Belzer, not Bowser. share
Did you actually check what he said or do you just declare yourself right and that's the end of it? If you watch the movie he makes multiple film/tv references and "The cone of silence" is one of them.
Next time you watch the movie put subtitles on. Here's a grab from the Blu-ray... http://imgur.com/ynMTrXQ
If I were you I'd delete that post to hide my stupidity.
edit - oops, put in incorrect dialogue instead of what is actually said.
Did you actually check what he said or do you just declare yourself right and that's the end of it? If you watch the movie he makes multiple film/tv references and "The cone is silent" is one of them.
Next time you watch the movie put subtitles on. Here's a grab from the Blu-ray... http://imgur.com/ynMTrXQ
If I were you I'd delete that post to hide my stupidity.
Why yes, I have watched the movie, many many times. I have seen that scene many, many times. I know what the idiot who transcribed the captions recorded it as. I also am very familiar with weather terminology (which is how I know there's absolutely no way he said 'cone of silence'), AND as a bonus I can read lips. He CLEARLY says "IS" (starts with mouth wide, ends with teeth together), not "of" (mouth starts open, ends with lower lip against top teeth). share
I'll give it a try...just before a twister hits, the area in front of it (like an eye wall in a hurricane) is very calm and silent.. as in The Calm Before the Storm! But that's just my take on it.
a quiet or peaceful period before a period during which there is great activity, argument, or difficulty: or in this just before a twister hits!
I'll give it a try...just before a twister hits, the area in front of it (like an eye wall in a hurricane) is very calm and silent
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!! No. It's not. The atmosphere before a tornado spins up is ANYTHING but "calm and silent". You're usually getting pelted with rain, baseball sized hail, and 70+ mph winds. I've been there.
"Now you start using your head. That's that lump that's three feet above your ass!" share
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it's more like "the cone is silent." As in, the wind dissipates rapidly, can't be seen, heard, or felt, despite the fact that the clouds are still dark and the mood of the weather is still very dark and therefore can immediately become unstable again.
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