Why Does it Rain?

For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof: Which the clouds do drop [and] distil upon man abundantly. Also can [any] understand the spreadings of the clouds, [or] the noise of his tabernacle?"

In grade school we were taught how temperature, dew point and moisture in a cloud could condense around a tiny ice crystal to form a drop of rain. But scientists are not really all that sure how raindrops form.

 

   

The problem is that the particles of mist in the cloud are all negatively charged. Since their charges are all the same, mist particles don't attract one another; they repel one another so it should never rain.

Some scientists have suggested that radioactive radon gas is responsible for changing this state of affairs in the cloud so that rain is formed. As the radon decays, absorbed by the droplets, it adds a positive charge to them. Because their charges are different than the surrounding negatively charged droplets, they begin to attract each other and soon the droplet has become large enough to fall as a raindrop. Unsure of this theory, other scientists are staying with the ice crystal theory.

Modern science often offers its conclusions with a very sure-sounding voice. But the fact is, scientists are unsure of many things, including the simple problem of why it rains. That's why we shouldn't get too worried when some scientist claims to have discovered something which he says proves the Bible to be in error.

Prayer: 

Dear Father in heaven, I am amazed at the mysteries surrounding a simple thing like rain. Give me and all of Your people a firmer faith and understanding of Your truth so that we are less easily influenced by the proud claims of fallible men. In Jesus' Name and for His sake. Amen.

Notes: 

Photo: Torrential rain on Thassos island, Greece. Courtesy of Edal Anton Lefterov. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.