Phys.org February 9, 2022
Researchers in the UK calculated the electrostatic forces between two water spheres that have not yet grown large enough to be described as raindrops. They found that the greater the variation in charges between droplets, the stronger the attraction between them. And that led them to suggest that if the variation was increased via an electric charge, the droplets would merge, leading to the formation of rain drops. As droplets merge and grow in size, additional electric charge should result in mergers between droplets until they become large enough for gravity to take over and they fall. The researchers suggest that an electric charge could be administered to overhead clouds via drones, planes, or even high towers. They further suggest that doing so could not only produce rain where it is desired but could prevent rain falling where it is not by forcing thunderclouds to drop their rain before they move into such areas—preventing the formation of tornadoes, for example. And they further suggest the technique might work in areas that experience fog but not much rain…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Location of image charges in two spherical drops close to each other. Each image charge induces a new image charge in the other drop…Credit: Proceedings of the Royal Society A, January 2022, Volume 478Issue 2257Â