Rostec has disclosed details of the operation of special PV-26M pyrotechnic cartridges used for artificial precipitation induction. This technology stimulates rain in clouds using silver iodide-based reagents.
The essence of the method lies in controlling the microphysics of clouds. Under normal conditions, water droplets can remain supercooled even at temperatures down to minus 40 degrees Celsius without turning into ice. To initiate precipitation, particles are introduced into the cloud, which become crystallization centers. As a result, ice crystals form, triggering the process of rain or snow.
PV-26M pyrotechnic cartridges are used as a reagent carrier. When activated, a pyrotechnic tablet weighing about 82 grams is released into the atmosphere, burning for at least 40 seconds and dispersing the active substance.
According to the developer, one gram of silver iodide can be enough to initiate precipitation from huge volumes of clouds, which translates into thousands of tons of rainwater.
A set of several hundred such cartridges can affect cloud masses covering tens of thousands of square kilometers. The technology is used in agriculture, as well as in combating wildfires when it is necessary to accelerate precipitation over problematic areas.
