A Laboratory Experiment on the Freezing Electrification of Freely Falling Water Droplets

Abstract

The electrification of freely falling water droplets due to freezing was measured in a laboratory experiment.
When distilled water was used for specimen, the frequencies of positive and negative electrification were nearly the same, while the positive electrification was predominant in case of water melted from fresh natural snow.
It was concluded that the electrification of natural ice pellets is occurred by the ejection of charged particles of a few micron diameter at the end of freezing state. It was also pointed out that because the impurity of specimen water is very important for the freezing electrification, the experiment by the use of natural water in clouds is desirable, if we undertake to clarify the mechanism of charge generation in natural clouds.