Rainmaking, also known as artificial precipitation, artificial rainfall and pluviculture, is the act of attempting to artificially induce or increase precipitation, usually to stave off drought or the wider global warming.
According to the clouds' different physical properties, this can be done using airplanes or rockets to sow to the clouds with catalysts such as dry ice , silver iodiod and salt powder , to make clouds rain or increase precipitation, to remove or mitigate farmland drought, to increase reservoir irrigation water or water supply capacity, to increase water levels for hydropower generation, or even to solve the global warming problem.
Cloud seeding is also referred to as man made precipitation and artificial rain making. The United Arab Emirates is one of the first countries in the Arabian Gulf region to use cloud seeding technology.
Who invented artificial rain ?
Vincent J. Schaefer, a self-taught chemist who invented cloud "seeding" and created the first artificially induced snow and rainfall, died on Sunday at a hospital in Schenectady, N.Y. He was 87 and lived in Rotterdam, N.Y.
How is artificial rain formed ?
Artificial rain is caused by spraying salt over clouds. As we know rainfall occurswhen oppositely charged clouds meet, since, clouds are colloidal in nature and carry charge. Spray of silver iodide, an electrolyte, leads to artificial rain. Sometimes electrified sand is also used for this purpose.
How much done artificial rain cost ?
Cloud seeding is also a costly method. A foot of rainfall costs around USD 200.” With so many side-effects, is the process worth it?.
