Live Science: Swarming bees may potentially change the weather - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: BU508A
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2022, 11:10:58 am
content: Stumbled over this article from Live Science:https://www.livescience.com/honeybees-electrify-air-more-than-thunderstormsQuote:"The finding, which researchers made by measuring the electrical fields around honeybee (apis mellifera) hives, reveals that bees can produce as much atmospheric electricity as a thunderstorm. This can play an important role in steering dust to shape unpredictable weather patterns; and their impact may even need to be included in future climate models."I'm a bit sceptical about this. A thunderstorm has a lot of energy in it. I have my doubts, that the energy from a bee swarm can compete with this.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2022, 06:09:15 pm
content: i think we need to nuke them from orbit

author: pcprogrammer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2022, 06:38:22 pm
content: Quote from: coppercone2 on October 27, 2022, 06:09:15 pmYou clearly don't like honey

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2022, 06:45:24 pm
content: Maybe there's more to the old story of a huricane being caused by the flap of a butterfly wing after all!Quote from: BU508A on October 27, 2022, 11:10:58 amThey are talking about localised voltage gradient rather than all the way to the clouds. If it happens close to the ground though, I guess it could influence dust particles (in the locust swarm reference).

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2022, 07:40:58 pm
content: Quote from: pcprogrammer on October 27, 2022, 06:38:22 pmits the only way to be sure. if we kill the bees then we can reduce emissions restrictions on coal plants, everyone wins. I always knew that man kind was not responsible for global warming. It looks like we finally found the culprit.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2022, 07:47:20 pm
content: We should start harvesting electricity from bees.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2022, 11:03:20 pm
content: Maybe we should just cut all the crap and stop shoving our nose where it doesn't belong. I'm sure that would help the "weather" tremendously.And leave the poor bees alone. Please.

author: Infraviolet
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 28, 2022, 12:35:25 am
content: We've long known that big insect swarms can cause false positives for weather radar, sometimes in the UK that approaching storm is actually just flying ant day.Part of me suspects that "as much atmospheric electricity" is referring to joules per cubic metre within the bee swarm beng mroe than joules per cm^3 in a thunderstorm. Sounds impressive until you remember the physical size difference between a bee swarm and a county sized cloud formation.

author: eti
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 28, 2022, 04:17:04 am
content: Quote from: pcprogrammer on October 27, 2022, 06:38:22 pmOr very life itself, for without bees we'd be slightly up the creek, to downplay it by a factor of -1,000,000,000... bye bye LOTS of things.

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 28, 2022, 05:40:48 am
content: Quote from: BU508A on October 27, 2022, 11:10:58 amThe maths don't stack up, for that, by so many orders of magnitude, and shows a lack of understanding on the part of the journo regarding the difference between voltage gradient, and electrical charge.

author: borjam
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 28, 2022, 06:10:01 am
content: It makes sense and it´s trivial to prove.Release a butterfly close to a swarm of bees. If the butterfly gets scared and changes its behavior, there is your effect!