Hail Cannon? Experienced Application vs. Scientists

[BrianH]

FoxNews.com - Sonic Boom! A Gun That Can Control Weather?

These farmers say that they've used this cannon during hails torms and actually saved some of their crops. Scientists claim they're full of crap and that the only way to stop hail is to stop it when it actually forms. I'm not quite sure what to think about this, but it seems as if these scientists are bashing these claims while these farmers are claiming actual success.

 

[Old Rocks]

Hmmm...... Farmers are not prone to spending money for things that do not work. I would like to see a study done over at least five years on this.

 

[BrianH]

Hmmm...... Farmers are not prone to spending money for things that do not work. I would like to see a study done over at least five years on this.

I agree. I'm not sure why scientists would jump to the conclusion that it doesn't work. It obviously does something. To me, if someone says they've actually witnessed it doing what it was designed to do, then there must be some merit to it. I know Chunk from the Goonies was a compulsive liar, but not everyone is Chunk. I'd actually like to see a demonstration.

The Indians did a rain dance and it always worked. The reason it worked every time was because they didn't quit dancing until it rained.

Hail storms don't generally last too long. It could be discovered that by the time they shoot this thing up that the storm just passes over and quits....just an idea.

 

[Old Rocks]

Could be that. Could be that the damned thing actually works for a reason other than the one that they are touting. Like I said, be nice to have at least a five year study on this as the guns are used.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

According to the people who make these stupid devices they disrupt the formation of hail by sending shock waves through the clouds, preventing hail from forming. My uneducated and unscientific observation is that lightning would send stronger shock waves through those clouds, and we still get plenty of hail. In fact, hail is often associated with violent thunderstorms, which have a lot of turbulent shock waves.

As for the farmers thinking that these cannons somehow disrupt hail after it is already formed, thus protecting their crops, that is even more ridiculous than the manufacturer claims. I would also point out that the worst hail storms rarely destroy all the crops. The cannons are completely useless, and a five year study would waste money and five years telling us something we already know.

 

[BrianH]

According to the people who make these stupid devices they disrupt the formation of hail by sending shock waves through the clouds, preventing hail from forming. My uneducated and unscientific observation is that lightning would send stronger shock waves through those clouds, and we still get plenty of hail. In fact, hail is often associated with violent thunderstorms, which have a lot of turbulent shock waves.

As for the farmers thinking that these cannons somehow disrupt hail after it is already formed, thus protecting their crops, that is even more ridiculous than the manufacturer claims. I would also point out that the worst hail storms rarely destroy all the crops. The cannons are completely useless, and a five year study would waste money and five years telling us something we already know.

I agree with you on a lot of stuff, but I would have to ask you what evidence you have of this. I'm not saying that I believe it does or does not work, but I would like to see evidence of one or the other. As far as hail destroying crops, I married into a farming family and yes, hail does destroy crops. It damages the leaves and hinders the plant from photosynthesizing. I've seen this affect personally.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

According to the people who make these stupid devices they disrupt the formation of hail by sending shock waves through the clouds, preventing hail from forming. My uneducated and unscientific observation is that lightning would send stronger shock waves through those clouds, and we still get plenty of hail. In fact, hail is often associated with violent thunderstorms, which have a lot of turbulent shock waves.

As for the farmers thinking that these cannons somehow disrupt hail after it is already formed, thus protecting their crops, that is even more ridiculous than the manufacturer claims. I would also point out that the worst hail storms rarely destroy all the crops. The cannons are completely useless, and a five year study would waste money and five years telling us something we already know.

I agree with you on a lot of stuff, but I would have to ask you what evidence you have of this. I'm not saying that I believe it does or does not work, but I would like to see evidence of one or the other. As far as hail destroying crops, I married into a farming family and yes, hail does destroy crops. It damages the leaves and hinders the plant from photosynthesizing. I've seen this affect personally.

Where did I say it does not destroy crops? I said that it rarely destroys all the crops. The farmers managed to save a small portion of their crops, and want to give credit to something they paid hard earned money on. that is simply human nature, and perfectly understandable.

As for actual evidence. just take a look around the web. Here is a good place to start.

Evidence Soup - Despite the evidence, hail cannons keep blasting away. We've got more to add to the hail cannon canon.

These things have been around for over a century, there is plenty of evidence of how useless they are.

 

[BrianH]

According to the people who make these stupid devices they disrupt the formation of hail by sending shock waves through the clouds, preventing hail from forming. My uneducated and unscientific observation is that lightning would send stronger shock waves through those clouds, and we still get plenty of hail. In fact, hail is often associated with violent thunderstorms, which have a lot of turbulent shock waves.

As for the farmers thinking that these cannons somehow disrupt hail after it is already formed, thus protecting their crops, that is even more ridiculous than the manufacturer claims. I would also point out that the worst hail storms rarely destroy all the crops. The cannons are completely useless, and a five year study would waste money and five years telling us something we already know.

I agree with you on a lot of stuff, but I would have to ask you what evidence you have of this. I'm not saying that I believe it does or does not work, but I would like to see evidence of one or the other. As far as hail destroying crops, I married into a farming family and yes, hail does destroy crops. It damages the leaves and hinders the plant from photosynthesizing. I've seen this affect personally.

Where did I say it does not destroy crops? I said that it rarely destroys all the crops. The farmers managed to save a small portion of their crops, and want to give credit to something they paid hard earned money on. that is simply human nature, and perfectly understandable.

As for actual evidence. just take a look around the web. Here is a good place to start.

Evidence Soup - Despite the evidence, hail cannons keep blasting away. We've got more to add to the hail cannon canon.

These things have been around for over a century, there is plenty of evidence of how useless they are.

For the record, I'm not being argumenative. I misunderstood would you posted about destroying crops. "My bad, my blunder." Thanks for posting the link, I look into it.
I just find it hard to believe that a farmer would keep spending money on something or even promote such a waste of money. But I'll do some more research on it.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

I agree with you on a lot of stuff, but I would have to ask you what evidence you have of this. I'm not saying that I believe it does or does not work, but I would like to see evidence of one or the other. As far as hail destroying crops, I married into a farming family and yes, hail does destroy crops. It damages the leaves and hinders the plant from photosynthesizing. I've seen this affect personally.

Where did I say it does not destroy crops? I said that it rarely destroys all the crops. The farmers managed to save a small portion of their crops, and want to give credit to something they paid hard earned money on. that is simply human nature, and perfectly understandable.

As for actual evidence. just take a look around the web. Here is a good place to start.

Evidence Soup - Despite the evidence, hail cannons keep blasting away. We've got more to add to the hail cannon canon.

These things have been around for over a century, there is plenty of evidence of how useless they are.

For the record, I'm not being argumenative. I misunderstood would you posted about destroying crops. "My bad, my blunder." Thanks for posting the link, I look into it.
I just find it hard to believe that a farmer would keep spending money on something or even promote such a waste of money. But I'll do some more research on it.

People want to believe that farmers are pragmatic, and my general experience is that they are, but they are also human and make mistakes, and, like most people, don't like admitting those mistakes, even to themselves.

Like I said, human nature.