Physics of Raindrops: Why They're Mathematically Impossible

[C C]

http://sparkonit.com/2015/09/01/physics-...mpossible/

EXCERPT: [...] there is a lot of physics – cohesion, adhesion and air resistance – going on in raindrops. [...] In the latest episode of MinutePhysics, Henry Reich explains the physics that makes raindrops mathematically impossible to explain.

[...] If a water droplet is below a certain size, making it bigger requires more surface area energy than is released from volume energy. It means raindrops do not grow, they shrink as they fall. So if they shrink, perhaps they should disappear before they hit the ground...

"[...] for water droplets it’s somewhere around a few million molecules; way too many to randomly clump together in less than the age of the universe! [...]” says Henry. If something that cannot be explained by science is called magic, should raindrops be considered magic then, just because it is mathematically impossible? Watch the video below and see if it changes your perspective about raindrops....

[Magical Realist]

That's very interesting. So when raindrops start out, they must be quite huge. By the time they've hit the ground, they've shrunk. I've always found the formation of large hailstones amazing. Obviously they start out as ice crystals, but how do they get so big so quickly? We're talking the size of grapefruit in some cases.