I’ll update this post when the manuscript is in press at QJ.
I’m really excited about recent work done by then-undergraduate Sam Wu detailing the dynamics of raindrop motion. For me, this project answers questions I had as far back as 2006. We typically treat raindrops as horizontal tracers of the wind, that then fall at their terminal fall speed, and that “load” the air. But this treatment is too simple. While the air-drop mixture presents an odd physical system, it is not impossible to deal with. External forces act on the center of mass of the combined system. Easy. The hard bit (dare I say “rub”?) is the internal force from friction — but this is where the fun lies. I’ve made it my goal for 20 years to kill “loading”. Did I succeed? You’ll have to read the paper (oh…and the follow-up paper in 2027) to find out.
As always, thanks to reviewers of the manuscript.
