The infinitely variable shape is referred to as a flake, due to the generally flat shape and individuality of the particles. Thus the action pictured by "dropping" is not appropriate for snow. As the snow "falls" it is a fluffy, irregularly shaped particle. Likewise, I believe you'll hear the same usage for frozen bits like sleet or freezing rain (which is a mix of frozen and unfrozen bits of H 2O). "Raindrops keep falling on my head." We don't say raindrops are dropping on my head. Since the "drops" are discrete bits of falling water, we call them rain drops, but we still say the rain falls. The observed behaviour of rain as it falls fits the event referred to by the common verb "fall." Rather than rain drops "dropping," we actually say rain falls. "I dropped my pen." "The water is dripping." Idiomatically we also say "The faucet is dripping," or "My nose is dripping." Thus we have two English verbs from this same root: drop, drip. Various umlaut forms of the same word can take on a separate life. Incidentally, these vowel changes in the root of Germanic words for different grammatical meaning (drop-drip) is called umlaut. Thus when water falls from a faucet a drop at a time we say it "drips." This is a form of the same word. "Oops, I dropped my lunch." "He dropped that brick on his toe."īut in other settings, another form of the word depicts the perception of how a single drop falls. But we usually use the verb "drop" for solid things. But the general meaning of "drop" as a noun is still associated with "drop" as a verb. The shape of individual bits of water are commonly called "drops." The verbal effect of drops falling is "dropping." But we don't actually say that rain drops (meaning to fall out of the sky. Factors involved in the form that particular moisture will take has to do with the relationship of cool air masses to warm air masses, the atmospheric height of the moisture when it collects and cools, the speed of cooling and other technical factors that can be found in meteorological sources.Ĭoncerning how the precipiatation falls, the shape as well as the weight of the individual pieces of cooled moisture as they precipitate determines how the individual particles of water, frozen or freezing water or snow fall. As air currents move, temperature variations determine when and how, and to what extent, H 2O gas collects and cools into a more solid form.įreezing takes place is two formats, freezing rain (or sleet) and snow. My understanding of the procedure of precipitation would indicate that the temperature of the air and related matters determine whether the moisture is frozen or not. Your question might relate to the precipitation factors - how each form of moisture forms before dropping to earth - or it might refer to the difference in the effect of gravity on each form when it falls. *** Raindrops and Snowflakes *** Orville Jenkins Articles
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