Daily Los Angeles herald., 1884-08-31
FORMATION of Rain Drops.

\ Various theories have been adsapir rain
No account for the formation o,xplan-
: irops. but the most satisfactory or err Os.
|l5ztion is that proposed by Profess..rrtticles
f,orne Reynolds. The minute re re- NOV.
HI which clouds are composed Il r the at.
ING downward in consequence son Of the
traction Of gravity; but by e0rs I TO their
resistance which the air on,.;ng yars,
descent. they are only ,bs m', resistance s
! o osssr:d d thai ths massage Of large arops is :
onereo = .ne PIs p proportion to their
nucn smal'st sn II, :, offered te small drops,
Feignt snan 'na ne large drops will de-
foiiows tna' han the smaller ones, and
'cend faster tben,, coming into collision
WI overtake ~ are in the direct line of
!itn any VIM When the two drops col.
neir uescsl;ll c's;ll unite to form larger drop.
1ioe tn9yu N, descend with increased veloc-
wnAcI waning wi mp all smaller drops in
~, ~ and thus increasing in size un-
M smerges from the cloud. Since
ay clouds are several miles in thick
sf.s II Is easy to see that a particle de-
7csuding from the upper part OF the
cjoud may become rain drop Of consid-
srable size before 1t emerges' from the
oIond. In their passage from the cloud
70 the earth, the larger rain-drops Will
overtake the smaller ones in precisely
kimilar way. At the same time the size
'of the drops may be slightly increased
By the condensation of water from the
.air through which they are falling, or
|mhy be slightly diminished by partial
evaporation from the surfaces OF the
drops
x A falling rain-drop descends with q
telocity which increases until the accel-
grafton il balanced by the resistance Of
The air, and after which the drop de-
~ with uniform velocity. 1t is, Of
!, well known that large clouds
3xist without any rain falling from
In some cases rain is actually
ds but evaporates and is again con-
Auto vapor before it can reach the
Id; In many cases the non-formation
b is possibly due to the fact that
certain unknown atmospheric or
conditions the particles forming
louds do not unite when they col
As an agent Of geological change,
s Of the greatest Importance. 1t
large part IL the disintegration
bks and the formation of soils, wash
B smaller particles into streams and
Stnd il, In fact, one Of the most
knt Of various denuding agents.
va Ence rain is the ultimate
bf al our brooks. rivers, ETC.,
- be said to be the principal
theological change on the earth's
m <xe kbn raf 80 II
cry considerably in different
and In different parts of the
65untry, depending on gsograph-
position, the conformation of the
kcs Of the ground, the proximity of
lskes and the sea, etc. The heav-
nndal fall Of rain occurs In the zone
tn1h over the equatorial region Of
AtIantic and Pacific oceans and on
ke1t}coast OF the British Isles. India,
Norway. North and South America, and
New Zealand. In all these latter dis
.frfcts the west wind blows over large
Vract Of ocean and becomes heavily
Charged with moisture, which it depos-
|its when forced upward by the action OF
Inc mountains on the coasts. The dry
81 districts in the world are the desett !
regions OF Africa and Asia. The amount
Of rain which falls in single showers is
something. enormous, especially in the
tropics. II the British Isles one Of the
heaviest faliS on record is fall Of 8 80
inches in t%enty-four hours in Mon
mouthshire, July l4th. 1875. On Octo.
Der 25th, 1856, at Gibraltar, there was a
fall OF 3O.ll inches. .-CasselPs Concise
cyelopoedia.