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This made me go back and read about cloud seeding. I'm surprised at how controversial its efficacy is. It seems it would be simple to set up in a lab conditio
by ErikVandeWater 5y ago
This made me go back and read about cloud seeding. I'm surprised at how controversial its efficacy is.
It seems it would be simple to set up in a lab conditions that would be favorable for a cloud seeding mission in the real world (conditions where the air is moist but not precipitating). Insert the silver iodide and see how much of the water in the air condenses. Multiply it out to see how much silver iodide you would need to substantially increase rain. Test in different conditions to see the operating window for cloud seeding is.
It should be noted that the benefit of cloud seeding is not necessarily increasing total rainfall in a region, but controlling where that rainfall occurs.
- dxbydt 5y agoYou don't need silver iodide & suchlike. You can build a simple catapult & fire drones into the cloud. The drone delivers an electric charge to the cloud. This dislodges the water which falls down as rain. This is already routine[1] [1] https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56428984 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56428984
- ErikVandeWater 5y agoThe article says they are in the proof of concept stage.
- dxbydt 5y agothat bbc report is from march. here's a recent update from last week. it actually works very well - lots of rain. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2021/07/21/cloud-seeding-uae-artificial-rain-drones-electricity/8040330002/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2021/07/21/cloud-s... https://www.newsweek.com/dubai-creates-fake-rain-using-drones-battle-122-degree-heat-1611887 https://www.newsweek.com/dubai-creates-fake-rain-using-drone...