Storm Experts Make Cloud Vanish

ianchaos writes: "According to an article in New Scientist, storm experts in the U.S. have made a cloud vanish from the sky for the first time. They achieved the feat by sprinkling a water-absorbing powder over the cloud, making it disappear from sight and weather station radar screens. They hope the powder will one day dry up deadly hurricanes and tropical storms."

Comments

Won't Somebody PLEASE Mod This Down!

[Rick the Red]

Enough with the hysteria! The chemical they use absorbs moisture from the cloud, becomes very heavy, and drops from the sky. It rains down into the ocean where the salt water breaks it down. So the water cycle is not harmed in any way (as if it could be) -- the water ends up in the ocean, as before.

As for hurricanes, their theory has yet to be proven, but the idea is to drop this stuff in a straight line from the eye out to the edge, thus disrupting the hurricane enough to turn it back into a tropical storm -- maybe even a tropical depression. Yes, the low pressure area will remain, but the theory is that the high winds will not (the high winds are not caused by high pressure air rushing radially into the low pressure storm).

And finally, this is not silica gel. Just because "we already have something that absorbs water and moisture" doesn't mean anything else that absorbs water is worthless. Do you wipe up coffee spills with silica gel? No. Do you pack electronics in paper towels? No. Do you read the damn articles before you post? Apparantly Not.