Electric rain can eat through metal (scientificamerican.com)
102 points by sohkamyung 4 days ago
gwbas1c 8 hours ago
goda90 10 hours 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 6 hours ago
In short it won't be. Less than $100 in a century during the highest recorded rainfall in the US.
dsimms 6 hours ago
I 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 6 hours ago
colechristensen 4 hours ago
anigbrowl 3 hours ago
Nice to see people working on quotidian science issues like this rather than chasing unicorns.
fuzztester 2 hours ago
Startup with that monetizable name starting in 3 - 2 - 1 -
teeray 2 hours ago
Chasing Unicorns is a pretty good band name too.
hinkley 9 hours ago
Wonder if this effect happens at all with stone.
khelavastr 10 hours ago
protonated rain aka acid rain
phendrenad2 9 hours ago
So 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 9 hours ago
Water-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.
froh42 11 hours ago
pay/somethingwall
Sn0wCoder 11 hours ago
throwaway231013 11 hours ago
Nope, different article. Try this instead: https://archive.ph/FwVX4