Home · Science · Sep 10 archive
Raindrops Carry Electrical Charge, Study Finds
Confirmed
In Short: Raindrops are not just water but tiny lightning bolts, according to a new study that could explain why they corrode cars.
Raindrops are not just water but tiny lightning bolts, according to a new study that could explain why they corrode cars. A team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, Germany, has shown that water drops routinely arrive at a surface carrying an electrical charge large enough to punch through an insulating coating. The study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, suggests that these electrical charges can cause localized punctures in protective coatings, leading to corrosion.
The phenomenon, known as 'slide electrification,' has only been properly quantified in the past few years. The study used a technique called intracellular recording to measure the electrical responses of individual photoreceptors in four bee species and both sexes of each. The reason for this electrical charge seems to be related to how energy-producing structures called mitochondria move through nerve cells.
According to Dr. Zhongyuan Ni, Rüdiger Berger, and Hans-Jürgen Butt, the standard explanation for why rain causes corrosion is that water carries dissolved salts and acids to a surface, constant drumming of raindrops abrades whatever protective coating is on it, and oxygen does the rest. However, their research shows that the electrical charge in raindrops can also contribute to the corrosion process.
The findings could have significant implications for industries that rely on protective coatings, such as automotive and aerospace. The researchers tested the effects of these electrical events by covering a surface with Teflon, a material widely known for its use on frying pans. They found that when charged droplets strike a coating, they discharge locally and can puncture the layer in specific spots, similar to a small flash of lightning.
What's confirmed
- Raindrops are not just water but tiny lightning bolts, according to a new study that could explain why they corrode cars. A team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, Germany, has shown that water drops routinely arrive at a surface carrying an electrical charge large enough to punch through an insulating coating. The study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, suggests that these electrical charges can cause localized punctures in protective coatings, leading to corrosion.
- The phenomenon, known as 'slide electrification,' has only been properly quantified in the past few years. The study used a technique called intracellular recording to measure the electrical responses of individual photoreceptors in four bee species and both sexes of each. The reason for this electrical charge seems to be related to how energy-producing structures called mitochondria move through nerve cells.
- According to Dr. Zhongyuan Ni, Rüdiger Berger, and Hans-Jürgen Butt, the standard explanation for why rain causes corrosion is that water carries dissolved salts and acids to a surface, constant drumming of raindrops abrades whatever protective coating is on it, and oxygen does the rest. However, their research shows that the electrical charge in raindrops can also contribute to the corrosion process.
- The findings could have significant implications for industries that rely on protective coatings, such as automotive and aerospace. The researchers tested the effects of these electrical events by covering a surface with Teflon, a material widely known for its use on frying pans. They found that when charged droplets strike a coating, they discharge locally and can puncture the layer in specific spots, similar to a small flash of lightning.
What's still developing
- But no drug had been shown to prevent CIPN, said Amit at the briefing.
- A first-of-its-kind study published in PLOS Medicine shows that the way we break up and accumulate periods of prolonged rest throughout the day may have a huge impact on health.
- Most striking of all, researchers found that for every extra hour of prolonged sitting in the day, people in the study faced a significantly higher risk of cancer and cancer mortality.
- "The good news is that breaking up your sitting time with something as simple as a short walk could be protective." In the research, the researchers analyzed data from more than 91,000 people who took part in the UK Biobank study – a long-term research project tracking the health of about half a million people in the UK.
- ‘Unparalleled’ study finds psilocybin protects against nerve damage from chemotherapy The findings, which were made in mice, may offer a new way to prevent a common chemotherapy side effect that can last well beyond treatment By Jackie Flynn Mogensen edited by Claire Cameron Chemotherapy is brutal.
- But a study published on Thursday in the journal Science makes a compelling case that administering psilocybin shortly before cancer treatments might prevent chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, a condition that affects about two-thirds of patients who receive chemo.
- The study, by a team of doctors and researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, found that lab mice given two doses of psilocybin before receiving chemotherapy were shielded from nerve damage.
- The protection held up through six consecutive chemo sessions and persisted for eight months, the study’s duration.