Professor Gregory Falkovich of the Physics of Complex Systems Department of the Weizmann Institute of Science, in Rehovot, Israel, graduate student Alexander Fouxon and visiting scientist Michael Stepanov have published a study detailing how the turbulence level of clouds is directly related to the their rain production. In the prestigious journal Nature, the physicists revealed that turbulence in clouds can accelerate rain formation. The mathematical formula developed by the Weizmann scientists can predict the collision rate of droplets in a turbulent cloud, in turn making it possible to forecast when the cloud will shed rain. Their systematic analysis may lead to improved, effective rain forecasts, which would assist meteorologists, agricultural specialists, etc.
Dubbed the ?sling effect? by the researchers, the discovery explains the link between turbulence and rainfall. According to a Weizmann Institute press release, ?turbulent vortices within a cloud act as small centrifuges that spin heavy droplets outward, much like a sling whirled around to discharge a stone by centrifugal force. The droplets ?hurled? by a turbulent vortex are more likely to collide with one another than droplets floating peacefully about.? Thus, the scientists concluded, ?Air turbulence can substantially accelerate the appearance of large droplets that trigger rain.? Quantifying the sling effect, and taking into account such variables as temperature, humidity and wind speed, the Weizmann physicists wrote the algorithm designed to predict the speed of rain droplet formation in clouds.
Dubbed the ?sling effect? by the researchers, the discovery explains the link between turbulence and rainfall. According to a Weizmann Institute press release, ?turbulent vortices within a cloud act as small centrifuges that spin heavy droplets outward, much like a sling whirled around to discharge a stone by centrifugal force. The droplets ?hurled? by a turbulent vortex are more likely to collide with one another than droplets floating peacefully about.? Thus, the scientists concluded, ?Air turbulence can substantially accelerate the appearance of large droplets that trigger rain.? Quantifying the sling effect, and taking into account such variables as temperature, humidity and wind speed, the Weizmann physicists wrote the algorithm designed to predict the speed of rain droplet formation in clouds.