In short it won't be. Less than $100 in a century during the highest recorded rainfall in the US.
dsimms 14 hours ago [-]
I had totally forgotten about the rain generator item in that edition of What If! I think because it includes this gem:
Q. What if you strapped C4 to a boomerang? Could this be an effective weapon, or would it be as stupid as it sounds?
A. it's the second one. Aerodynamics aside, I’m curious what tactical advantage you’re expecting to gain by having the high explosive fly back at you if it misses the target.
oniony 14 hours ago [-]
Well it would gently encourage you not to miss.
colechristensen 12 hours ago [-]
There's two kinds of boomerang, the one to try to hit something with has a different shape and goes in a straight line without returning. It indeed might be a clever alternative to a grenade, made of explosives in a thin metal shell because one person could throw more explosive mass further than a person could throw a grenade.
The stone erosion question is interesting. If this effect works on limestone too, it could explain some geological formations we've been attributing purely to chemical weathering. Might be a whole new field of research
9 hours ago [-]
anigbrowl 11 hours ago [-]
Nice to see people working on quotidian science issues like this rather than chasing unicorns.
fuzztester 10 hours ago [-]
Startup with that monetizable name starting in 3 - 2 - 1 -
teeray 10 hours ago [-]
Chasing Unicorns is a pretty good band name too.
hinkley 17 hours ago [-]
Wonder if this effect happens at all with stone.
elevaet 7 hours ago [-]
Great question. You can get some really pronounced rain erosion grooves and patterns on limestone, I wonder if this effect is part of the story, or if it's just normal dissolving going on.
khelavastr 18 hours ago [-]
protonated rain aka acid rain
phendrenad2 17 hours ago [-]
So if I pour water onto a huge dome of metal, it might build up enough of a negative static charge to jump a spark gap? New science exhibit idea!
pfdietz 17 hours ago [-]
Water-driven electrostatic generators are really easy to build. The key is to have droplets separate at a point where there's an electric field, which causes the detaching droplet to carry a charge. Properly arranged this can cause an exponential increase in charge with time.
It might be a useful effect for small electronics in damp environments where solar isn't a great option. Caves, rainforests, showers.
In short it won't be. Less than $100 in a century during the highest recorded rainfall in the US.
Q. What if you strapped C4 to a boomerang? Could this be an effective weapon, or would it be as stupid as it sounds?
A. it's the second one. Aerodynamics aside, I’m curious what tactical advantage you’re expecting to gain by having the high explosive fly back at you if it misses the target.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelvin_water_dropper