Can Nuclear Fallout Make It Rain? (sciencemag.org) 24
sciencehabit writes:
Radioactive fallout is rarely a good thing. But new research suggests charged particles emitted from Cold War-era nuclear tests may have boosted rainfall thousands of kilometers away from the testing sites, by triggering electrical charges in the air that caused water droplets to coalesce.
The United States, Soviet Union, and other nations often tested nuclear weapons above ground in the 1950s and early 1960s. The fallout contained a devil's cocktail of radioactive elements that can have subtle effects in the atmosphere. Charged particles emitted during radioactive decay can smack into surrounding atoms and molecules, ripping them asunder and creating even more charged particles. Then, that flurry of charged particles can glom onto dust, soot, or water droplets in the atmosphere, sometimes making the droplets hefty enough to fall to the ground as rain.
To see whether above-ground nuclear testing actually increased rainfall, University of Reading atmospheric scientist Giles Harrison and colleagues looked at Cold War-era rainfall records from a weather station on a remote island north of Scotland... The team's analysis suggests a strong link between fallout and precipitation from 1962 through 1964, a period when fallout from above-ground testing of nuclear weapons was commonly present in the stratosphere. At the Scottish site, clouds were thicker, and precipitation was 24% higher on days when above-average levels of fallout were present (as inferred from measurements of the atmosphere's electric field), the researchers report in Physical Review Letters.
The researchers believe it could help us understand weather patterns on planets like Jupiter and Neptune with charged partciles in their atmosphere -- and might even make it possible for small-scale experiments in controlling the weather.
The United States, Soviet Union, and other nations often tested nuclear weapons above ground in the 1950s and early 1960s. The fallout contained a devil's cocktail of radioactive elements that can have subtle effects in the atmosphere. Charged particles emitted during radioactive decay can smack into surrounding atoms and molecules, ripping them asunder and creating even more charged particles. Then, that flurry of charged particles can glom onto dust, soot, or water droplets in the atmosphere, sometimes making the droplets hefty enough to fall to the ground as rain.
To see whether above-ground nuclear testing actually increased rainfall, University of Reading atmospheric scientist Giles Harrison and colleagues looked at Cold War-era rainfall records from a weather station on a remote island north of Scotland... The team's analysis suggests a strong link between fallout and precipitation from 1962 through 1964, a period when fallout from above-ground testing of nuclear weapons was commonly present in the stratosphere. At the Scottish site, clouds were thicker, and precipitation was 24% higher on days when above-average levels of fallout were present (as inferred from measurements of the atmosphere's electric field), the researchers report in Physical Review Letters.
The researchers believe it could help us understand weather patterns on planets like Jupiter and Neptune with charged partciles in their atmosphere -- and might even make it possible for small-scale experiments in controlling the weather.
HAARP? (Score:2)
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Particulates can seed rain (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Particulates can seed rain (Score:5, Informative)
"It can only be one thing! Not two things! That'd be crazy!"
If only the article had proposed a mechanism that was consistent with other research considering the influence of charged particles on cloud formation [home.cern].
Wait a minute...
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Interfering with rainfall on a large scale is bound to cause ecological havoc for local species. Any such step, nuclear based or not, would need caution or risk destroying not only species but dam and riverfront infrastructure.
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That sounds like a batshit insane plan
There is no "plan". This was a retroactive study of historical data. No one is proposing that we detonate nukes in the atmosphere to make it rain.
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I think the people doing this probably *already know that*. The premise seems to be that the charged particles increase the likelihood that the dust is big enough to create a nucleation center, thus increasing the chance of rain forming.
RTFA.
Don't tell the Man with the Nuclear Codes (Score:2)
Hmm... (Score:1)
Radioactive rain! (Score:2)
Finally! The rain-dance groups can finally stop dancing, their hair will fall out anyway soon.
Can a 400 kt device be used... (Score:3)
Can a 400 kt nuclear device be used to eliminate moles in a turfgrass lawn? Tune in to our YouTube channel next week for the surprising answer!
Devil's cocktail (Score:2)
Mr. Rogers (Score:2)
Mr. Rogers undoubtedly can make it rain. GO shawty, it's your birthday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
THIS is why there's anti-climate change views ... (Score:2)
... people are made so scared that they are willing to consider _anything_ to address the perceived problem (and because someone is always willing to try and make money no matter what). _We_ are the cure to climate change but not through exotic schemes presuming we have the knowledge for a 'quick fix'. Change your consumption habits people and we'll slowly wind things back to 'safe'.
FTFA:[based on observed results from nuclear testing ] "... and might even make it possible for small-scale experiments in c
Chicken or Egg? (Score:2)