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Raindrops Carry Electrical Charges, 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.
The study, led by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, found that raindrops carry electrical charges large enough to puncture protective coatings, similar to small lightning strikes.
The findings suggest that the constant drumming of raindrops, combined with their electrical charge, can significantly impact the durability of surfaces, leading to increased corrosion.
The study was published in the journal PLoS ONE and could have implications for industries dealing with outdoor equipment and infrastructure.
What's confirmed
- The study, led by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, found that raindrops carry electrical charges large enough to puncture protective coatings, similar to small lightning strikes.
- The findings suggest that the constant drumming of raindrops, combined with their electrical charge, can significantly impact the durability of surfaces, leading to increased corrosion.
- The study was published in the journal PLoS ONE and could have implications for industries dealing with outdoor equipment and infrastructure.
What's still developing
- The starting point of the study is a phenomenon called “slide electrification,” which has only been properly quantified in the past few years.
- In the study, Dr. Rigosi and co-authors from Lund University and the University of Adelaide used a technique called intracellular recording to measure the electrical responses of individual photoreceptors — the light-sensing cells in an insect’s eye — in four bee species and both sexes of each.
- The reason why seems to have to do with how energy-producing structures called mitochondria move through nerve cells.
- But no drug had been shown to prevent CIPN, said Amit at the briefing.
- 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.
- A new study led by Zhongyuan Ni, Rüdiger Berger, and Hans-Jürgen Butt at 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.
- 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.