Weather Manipulation: Does it Work?

[wolram]

Can it be said that some form of weather manipulation works?
China seems to have had some success,

http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/10/020213&from=rss

Even if some form works is it worth the effort, are we just moving a (problem) to another location.

 

[chayced]

Cloud seeding has been around for quite a while, and that's all they were doing. We can't change the humidity, the temperature, or the pressure in an area of the atmosphere. All we can do is trigger rain when the conditions are right. So really all they did was cause storm clouds to start raining before they normally would.

 

[LowlyPion]

I think you need to view this through the lens of Chinese propaganda. The stunning lengths and power of the CCP to present the Summer games as auspiciously as possible and even to turn back and deny nature for the moment so great is their power. It's the new China flexing it's muscle on the world stage, even if the display might be more for domestic consumption.

1100 dispersal rockets looks to be a rather extravagant budget for no rain on just 1 night - albeit the Opening Ceremonies night. It likely would have been seen as an ill omen if it had rained on their parade on this night of all nights.

I would even be skeptical that they launched any rockets to accomplish this and even if they did might even have taken credit for something that would have happened naturally anyway. China is not kind to those that shoot off 1100 rockets that have no effect. Look at what happened to the guys that thought to stamp out the bird populations that were eating their crops. (They ended their days in the fields spraying the bugs that the birds would have been eating if the birds hadn't been beaten to death.)

 

[chayced]

I think more to the point they would have not said a word about it had it not worked. Yes, they may be taking credit for rain that would have happened right where it happened without help. Yes this is an obvious flex of muscle, they want the world to think of them for things other than pollution and human rights violations. Still cloud seeding is possible, just not cost effective, and nowhere near reliable.

 

[f95toli]

As far as I remember cloud seeding was used at the Moscow olympics as well.
It certainly works and might even be worth trying for an event like the olympics, it is just not very reliable.

 

[mgb_phys]

It certainly works and might even be worth trying for an event like the olympics, it is just not very reliable.

The British system is and it's very cheap - you just need two people in white shorts+t-shirt to hold tennis raquets and walk onto a court at Wimbledon, never fails.

 

[paw]

The British system is and it's very cheap - you just need two people in white shorts+t-shirt to hold tennis raquets and walk onto a court at Wimbledon, never fails.

Or the Vancouver system, just schedule an event on the weekend.

 

[Borek]

The British system is and it's very cheap - you just need two people in white shorts+t-shirt to hold tennis raquets and walk onto a court at Wimbledon, never fails.

I have heard it is more complicated, it requires large, green rectangular field, 11 man in yellow pants and red shirts, 11 man in blue, three man in black, and the rain starts on a whistle. But could be these days two people with tennis racquets are enough, miniaturization makes wonders.

 

[mgb_phys]

You're thinking of the English summer rain ceremony where you dress up in white and stand around in the middle of a field holding a wooden bat.
Sometimes it's necessary to perform a rain dance (if the australians have turned up and look like winning) for instructions see - .http://www.teamfishcake.co.uk/raindance/how.html