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Physics of Falling Raindrops

This document describes a model of a raindrop falling through mist and absorbing water, causing its mass and radius to increase over time. (1) Equations are derived for how the mass and velocity change over time as the raindrop falls. (2) It is shown that the radius is linearly proportional to the distance fallen, and that neglecting initial size, the raindrop falls under a reduced gravitational field. (3) Estimates are made of typical raindrop sizes based on cloud properties and densities.

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Abdul Rehman Khan
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424 views1 page

Physics of Falling Raindrops

This document describes a model of a raindrop falling through mist and absorbing water, causing its mass and radius to increase over time. (1) Equations are derived for how the mass and velocity change over time as the raindrop falls. (2) It is shown that the radius is linearly proportional to the distance fallen, and that neglecting initial size, the raindrop falls under a reduced gravitational field. (3) Estimates are made of typical raindrop sizes based on cloud properties and densities.

Uploaded by

Abdul Rehman Khan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

classical mechanics → Newtonian mechanics FFF

Falling Raindrop
Consider a spherical droplet of water, with mass m and radius r, of density ρw , falling through a mist of
density ρm . As the droplet falls through the mist, under gravitational field g, all the water contained in the
mist is absorbed into the droplet, so the mass increases. Let z(t) describe the distance towards the ground
that the raindrop has traveled, and v = ż the velocity of the raindrop. Assume that z(0) = v(0) = 0 –
the raindrop initially starts at rest.

(a) Write down equations for ṁ, and v̇, the rates of change of mass and the velocity of the raindrop.

(b) By relating m to r, show that the radius r is linearly related to z, and determine the linear coefficient
of proportionality. Let r0 , the initial size of the raindrop, be the constant offset.

(c) Show that if r0 = 0,


1g 2
z(t) =
t ,
27
i.e., the raindrop falls under an effectively reduced gravitational field!

(d) The typical thickness of a rain cloud is about 2 km, and the relevant densities are ρw ≈ 1000 kg/m3 ,
and ρm ≈ 10−3 kg/m3 . Estimate the size of a typical raindrop, and compare to the empirical result
of ∼ 1 mm. Use that g ≈ 10 m/s2 .

(e) Show that, even when r0 6= 0, the velocity obeys the differential equation1

(g − 7v̇)(g − v̇)
v̈ =
3v

(f) Let a = v̇. Use equations for ȧ and v̇ to qualitatively (but carefully) sketch the dynamics of raindrops
in the (v, a) plane, for varying values of r0 . Be careful – the initial condition r0 relates the values of
a and v at t = 0. What is the early time dynamics? What is the late time dynamics?

In this model, we have neglected air resistance. We can approximate that air resistance leads to an
extra force acting on the raindrop:
Fair = −6πηrv.

(g) Using η ≈ 10−5 kg/m · s, determine whether or not air resistance will be important in the dynamics
of a falling raindrop. Is neglecting air resistance legitimate for the long-time dynamics of raindrops?2

(h) Does the final mass of the raindrop, after it exits the cloud, change after accounting for air resistance?

(i) Estimate the terminal velocity, and kinetic energy, of a falling raindrop. Is the result reasonable? Be
sure to take into account the result of the previous part, if needed.

1
Take the derivative of an equation for v̇(z + k), where k is an appropriate constant.
2
Be sure to consider the size of a cloud in your answer to this last question!

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