Eco Factor: Laser creates clouds to call down rain when required.
Scientists at the University of Geneva, Switzerland have reported the first successful test of using lasers to generate small clouds on demand in the lab and in real-world experiments. The technique could be a way to call down rain whenever it’s required.
The research team used the technique to summon clouds from air both in the land and in the skies over Berlin, Germany. The team fired extremely short pulses of infrared laser light into a chamber of water-saturated air at -24 degrees Celsius and confirmed the formation of linear clouds in the laser’s wake.
The team states that the laser pulses generate clouds by stripping electrons from atoms in the air, which encourages the formation of hydroxyl radicals. Those convert sulfur and nitrogen dioxide in the air into particles that act as seeds to grow water droplets.
The experiments were repeated in the skies of Berlin to suggest that the effect can work under natural conditions as well. The team fired pulses into the autumn sky and confirmed that the density and size of water droplets spiked when the laser was fired.
Via: New Scientist
