Cloud seeding is a technique for altering the weather. That involves introducing small ice nuclei into particular varieties of subfreezing clouds. These nuclei support the development of snowflakes. Bernard Vonnegut and Vincent Schaefer discovered that Silver iodide could convert super-cooled water vapour into ice crystals at temperatures between -10 and -5 °C
A method of weather modification known as “cloud seeding” should increase cloud-based precipitation. The amount of rain that falls to the amount of water vapour that enters the cloud base is known as cloud precipitation efficiency, and it is frequently clearly below unity. The purpose of cloud seeding, which was first proposed during World War II, is to artificially boost precipitation efficiency. Even though there are still many unanswered scientific questions, this method is widely used in many arid regions of the world.
The Beginning of Cloud Seeding
Scientists at the General Electric Research Laboratory invented this technique in 1946. They discovered they could enhance the formation of ice crystals in clouds by using dry ice and the inorganic substance silver iodide.
Even now, dry ice and silver iodide are still used in cloud seeding. But, in the past 60 years, specialists have learned a great deal more about this approach. Since then, this has increased knowledge of how rain and snowfall and enhanced seeding techniques.
What Is the Process of Cloud Seeding?
A crystal quickly forms when silver iodide is placed on top of a growing cloud after it is exposed to the cloud’s moisture. It will then break through the cloud and touch down on the ground. According to scientists, there are two main ways to seed clouds. This prevents the condensation of enough cloud droplets to produce rainfall. If a cloud has insufficient ice particles, this could happen.
Particles of silver iodide are emitted from beneath the cloud base. Silver iodide is burned by pyrotechnics (or flares) on aircraft from a great height into the cloud’s core. The clouds still contain a lot of water, even though they may not be able to produce cloud droplets during droughts
What Advantages Does Cloud Seeding Offer?
Cloud seeding has various benefits. It can increase community access to natural water sources, increasing winter snowfall and mountain snowpack Hailstorms could be reduced by rearranging the water vapour in clouds that breaks down large hailstones.
Does cloud seeding affect the environment and human health?
The amount of silver in a storm caused by cloud seeding is much lower than the legal limit of 50 micrograms per litre. Silver iodide cloud-seeding has never been proven to be harmful, not even in programs that have lasted 30 to 40 years.
The taste and fragrance of raindrops produced by seeding clouds are identical to those of conventional rainwater. Similar concerns exist of cloud seeding’s potential to disrupt the earth’s normal moisture balance. We don’t know if cloud seeding is dangerous, but some scientists think that if it spreads on a much greater scale, it can cause silver poisoning and environmental issues.
Do you have any difficulties with cloud seeding?
Public concern has been raised about cloud seeding. Since many people do not comprehend the science of seeding, websites with unfounded claims or conspiracies of the practice have appeared.