People need water. Clouds are the cheapest means of transporting water from the sea to land.

On the rainy days you don't need to interfere. But then if there has been a long drought (corrected the spelling from draught thanks zen_tom) here's my proposal:

All that's needed are a few blimps and good weather. The blimps are anchored to the ground (or undersea) along the wished path.

In the designated sea area various schemes are used to create evaporative and condensive conditions for your cloud to form. Ultrasound vaporisers may be inserted in the water on floats. A large mylar fresnel lens could be extended above the area, between your blimps, anchored in a circle. Or use other ideas from here on the HB like an extended updraft energy tower.

Perhaps even seawater mist can pumped up and sprayed back way out at sea, so that the salt particles in the air do not cause harm.

Various other cooling schemes can be used, the best of which is to simply blow the air to the correct atmospheric layer, where it should then condense.

Anyway, once your cloud is assembled at the desired hight, an extremely lightweight (and perhaps partially carried by hydrogen/hellium) thin mylar coating should be wrapped around the cload, and it should then be driven via an RF Remote Control unit (using X10) to the desired location over land. This should cost the equivalent of moving a tanker in the sea, if not less - because you should be assisting yourself with the correct air streams for energy, and perhaps with "sails" at the correct height.

Once the cloud reaches the correct location above your desired rainfall area (presumably above a national lake or mountains where it will help refill the depleting aquifer) it is hitched to a zepelin, and by pulling it up or down to a stream at the right temperature, you can cause it to rain its water. If there is no cool level in the atmosphere at this time, you can always shoot a jet of CO2 or dry ice to create the effect inside your "cloud" balloon.
-- pashute, Jan 05 2011

Also... Adoptacloud_2eorg
[MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 12 2011]

Yes, I'm Under A Cloud Yes_2c_20I_27m_20Under_20A_20Cloud
[theircompetitor, Jan 12 2011]

Liquid nitrogen can catch a cloud - Devon Disaster http://www.guardian...on.physicalsciences
[pashute, Nov 09 2012]

corrected that.
-- pashute, Jan 12 2011


I thought this was going to be something along the lines of that "Name a star" scam where you send them $20 and they give you a picture of a star map with an arrow saying "This star is now named Fluffy in honor of your dear departed family dog."

I always thought you could go further and charge to name anything after anybody. Rock formations, clumps of floating seaweed, piles of dirt. Send a picture saying "This pile of rocks in Angola is now named "Uncle Bud". That'll be $20.

Especially easy to do now with Google Earth.
-- doctorremulac3, Jan 12 2011


see new Devon disaster link. It seems spraying liquid nitrogen works? Or is this an urban legend?

I wrote to mythbusters about it. Maybe we'll get an episode about that.
-- pashute, Nov 09 2012



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