3 ms·
Electric rain can eat through metal
- froh42 1mo agopay/somethingwall
- Sn0wCoder 1mo agohttps://archive.ph/holar https://archive.ph/holar
- throwaway231013 1mo agoNope, different article. Try this instead: https://archive.ph/FwVX4 https://archive.ph/FwVX4
- xattt 1mo agoSource publication: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10941-6 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10941-6
- Sn0wCoder 1mo agoWhoops! thanks, guess I should have clicked it to double check thought it look familiar lol
- gwbas1c 1mo agoI recommend deleting the incorrect link.
- deleted 1mo ago[deleted]
- khelavastr 1mo agoprotonated rain aka acid rain
- goda90 1mo ago> People have wanted to collect rain to create electricity, but that hasn’t worked on a large scale It might be a useful effect for small electronics in damp environments where solar isn't a great option. Caves, rainforests, showers.
- gustavus 1mo agohttps://what-if.xkcd.com/23/ https://what-if.xkcd.com/23/ In short it won't be. Less than $100 in a century during the highest recorded rainfall in the US.
- dsimms 1mo agoI had totally forgotten about the rain generator item in that edition of What If! I think because it includes this gem: Q. What if you strapped C4 to a boomerang? Could this be an effective weapon, or would it be as stupid as it sounds? A. it's the second one. Aerodynamics aside, I’m curious what tactical advantage you’re expecting to gain by having the high explosive fly back at you if it misses the target.
- oniony 1mo agoWell it would gently encourage you not to miss.
- colechristensen 1mo agoThere's two kinds of boomerang, the one to try to hit something with has a different shape and goes in a straight line without returning. It indeed might be a clever alternative to a grenade, made of explosives in a thin metal shell because one person could throw more explosive mass further than a person could throw a grenade.
- throwup238 1mo agoSomeone submitted the design during WWI but it wasn’t used: https://www.southernhighlandnews.com.au/story/2992498/boomerang-grenades-struth-with-david-ellis/ https://www.southernhighlandnews.com.au/story/2992498/boomer...
- hinkley 1mo agoWonder if this effect happens at all with stone.
- elevaet 1mo agoGreat question. You can get some really pronounced rain erosion grooves and patterns on limestone, I wonder if this effect is part of the story, or if it's just normal dissolving going on.
- jszymborski 1mo agoIt's the latter https://wwwbrr.cr.usgs.gov/projects/GWC_Crystal/erosion/indexB.html https://wwwbrr.cr.usgs.gov/projects/GWC_Crystal/erosion/inde...
- phendrenad2 1mo agoSo if I pour water onto a huge dome of metal, it might build up enough of a negative static charge to jump a spark gap? New science exhibit idea!
- pfdietz 1mo agoWater-driven electrostatic generators are really easy to build. The key is to have droplets separate at a point where there's an electric field, which causes the detaching droplet to carry a charge. Properly arranged this can cause an exponential increase in charge with time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelvin_water_dropper https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelvin_water_dropper
- gwbas1c 1mo agohttps://web.archive.org/web/20260828190911/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/electric-rain-can-eat-through-metal/ https://web.archive.org/web/20260828190911/https://www.scien...
- anigbrowl 1mo agoNice to see people working on quotidian science issues like this rather than chasing unicorns.
- fuzztester 1mo agoStartup with that monetizable name starting in 3 - 2 - 1 -
- teeray 1mo agoChasing Unicorns is a pretty good band name too.
- fuzztester 1mo agoha ha. i raise you: - smart band (smartwatch startup) - gang (or band) of four (s/w engg. startup) - pink sting (rock music startup) - hard times or hard wear (hardware device startup - oops, no)
- deleted 1mo ago[deleted]
- ZeroDayDreamer 1mo agoThe stone erosion question is interesting. If this effect works on limestone too, it could explain some geological formations we've been attributing purely to chemical weathering. Might be a whole new field of research
- lacunary 1mo agoisn't this still a form of chemical weathering?