![<p><strong>SF (5-1)</strong> Rain drops captured falling during a spring thundershower. Notice the raindrops are circular.</p>](/exploringourfluidearth/sites/default/files/M2U3-SF5-1.jpg "<p> </p>
<p class=\"p1\"><a data-cke-saved-href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/noaaphotolib/5425439542/","http://www.flickr.com/photos/noaaphotolib/5425439542\">Photo</a> href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/noaaphotolib/5425439542/","http://www.flickr.com/photos/noaaphotolib/5425439542\">Photo</a> courtesy of NOAA</p>")
SF (5-1) Rain drops captured falling during a spring thundershower. Notice the raindrops are circular.
Photo courtesy of NOAA
Title
Weird Science: Rain Drops Are Not Really Drop Shaped!
Table of Contents
- Falling rain drops are nearly spherical. This is because the molecules at the surface of a liquid feel a net attraction by other molecules toward the interior of the liquid.
- A sphere has the smallest surface area to volume ratio of any geometric shape. Thus, the surface area tends to be reduced as much a possible, forming a sphere (or very close to a sphere).
