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VW will stop firing ‘hail cannons’ after farmers protest
- lawlessone 8y agoDo they even work?
- Kurtz79 8y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hail_cannon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hail_cannon "There is no evidence in favor of the effectiveness of these devices. A 2006 review by Jon Wieringa and Iwan Holleman in the journal Meteorologische Zeitschrift summarized a variety of negative and inconclusive scientific measurements, concluding "the use of cannons or explosive rockets is a waste of money and effort"."
- toddmorey 8y agoArticles say science unproven. Thunder notably creates similar shockwave. It’s in the category of who knows but cheap enough to atempt anyway.
- dx034 8y agoOr they needed it for insurance. The finished cars will likely be insured and maybe the insurer forced them to show reasonable effort to reduce damage.
- Angostura 8y ago... and even if they do work, would they affect rainfall?
- majjam 8y agoThe farmers quoted in the article seem convinced that they prevent rainfall at least.
- mikestew 8y agoThere are probably farmers to this day that are convinced dowsing rods work.
- Luc 8y agoHow could they even work? Think of the energies and distances involved.
- Jaruzel 8y agoFT Article is paywalled. Try this link: http://uk.businessinsider.com/volkswagen-hail-cannons-mexico-farmers-draught-2018-8 http://uk.businessinsider.com/volkswagen-hail-cannons-mexico...
- ghshephard 8y ago...Or click on "web" in the HN comments.
- Raphmedia 8y agoOr use this (disclaimer, this will redirect you from your logged in Facebook account): https://www.facebook.com/flx/warn/?u=https%3A%2F%2Famp.ft.com%2Fcontent%2F3b377aa8-a64d-11e8-8ecf-a7ae1beff35b%3F__twitter_impression%3Dtrue&h=AT13qzQEgtzpvwPcWOyFMM14HuZCTolBztMqbncx5Q1NNExeoGLRpEOGSOH6dKJV3Ann9ZcTAb7DKM4WnZggDIv4WaWfhJwzN668OPVQPwDkxFsugJTQWDw&_rdr https://www.facebook.com/flx/warn/?u=https%3A%2F%2Famp.ft.co...
- dagoat 8y agoor https://outline.com/jmv5nJ https://outline.com/jmv5nJ
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- fyrabanks 8y agonice try, financial times subscription department
- Kurtz79 8y ago"In response, VW said it would install netting above the cars to protect them from hailstorms in the future." It seems a comparatively much more reasonable and non-invasive low-tech solution...
- stefan_ 8y agoOr, even cheaper, you just dismantle the "hail cannons", since there is no scientific evidence of their effectiveness or even a hypothesis on why their working principle would have anything to do with hail. So since they do nothing, have never done anything, you clearly didn't need them in the first place.
- deweller 8y ago> Scientists say there is no way to prove if these cannons really work, but farmers say it is cheaper to try the cannons than to buy hail insurance I don't even...
- qmarchi 8y agoDe-paywalled rather than linking to another source. https://outline.com/yBhsWR https://outline.com/yBhsWR
- kpil 8y agoHow about they built the fscking cars so they would survive being outdoors? I certainly don't have anti-hail navy-grade cannons at home. I never really understood why cars have the outer finish of an indoor piece of art. My car have scratches from my fingernails near the door handles. What's up with that? Should I wear white gloves when I approach the car?
- athenot 8y agoScratches and dents are 2 different things. All modern cars have paint which is then covered in clear coat (which is then covered in wax). The wax layer can easily be scratched but it also easily buffs out. The clear coat layer is VERY strong and will put up with quite a bit of abuse; you can make that coat even thicker if you so wish, with aftermarket products. Hail doesn't directly damage the clear coat or the paint, it dents the actual metal itself. To make a car that resists those heavy hail storms would require quite a bit of extra weight, and overall this problem is cheaper to solve via insurance than by building a bullet-proof carapace that will add weight and rarely ever get used.
- thatcat 8y agoIt would only be a lot of weight if you use steel. Remember the 90s saturns with plastic doors that would just pop back after being dented? The problem is that deformation properties in steel are used to absorb impact as a safety device during collision.
- catskul2 8y ago> ...building a bullet-proof carapace... I see what you did there.
- kpil 8y agoIt was an example. It's delicate in every possible way. It tolerates water, marginally, but that's it. I also understand that it's better for the manufacturer that I pay through my insurance or otherwise, but that is not my point.
- superbaconman 8y ago
- mcguire 8y agoFiring shockwaves every 6 seconds?
- lenkite 8y agoTo the HN meteorologist/physicists: Do hail cannons even work ? It really seems strange that producing shockwaves prevent hail from falling. I have experienced hailstorms with lots of thunder and lightning.
- parliament32 8y agoPaywall, and the link above is also the AMP version.
- pvaldes 8y ago> My car have scratches from my fingernails near the door handles Professional car painting is expensive for avoiding things like that. There are a lot of super-cheap brands also of course, but in the end, you have what you pay for.