The fragmentation and electrification of freezing water drops

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Abstract
The freezing of water drops is often accompanied by shattering of the ice shell and the production of small ice splinters. These phenomena have been studied in relation to the drop diameter in the range 30 μ to 1 mm, the nucleation temperature of the drop, the air content and purity of the water. The number of splinters produced is largely governed by the nucleation temperature (the degree of supercooling) which controls the quantity of air released during freezing and is not very dependent on drop size. Slightly supercooled drops of 1/10−1 mm diameter produced, on average, 20 to 50 splinters. The mechanism of drop fragmentation is discussed and the potential importance of splintering in the ice‐nucleus economy of clouds is assessed.Fragmentation of freezing drops is accompanied by electrical charging, usually with the splinters positively charged and the drop residue carrying a negative charge. The magnitude of the residual charge which, on average, is observed to be about 10−3 e.s.u. for a millimetre drop, is related to the same factors which control splinter production. Charging by this mechanism would not appear to be of major importance in the electrification of thunderstorms.

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