It was not until the close of the 19th century that more drastic measures were taken towards weather modification.
One of the first devices tested was the Hail Cannon.
The Hail Cannon is a funnel-shaped equipment that supposedly disrupt formation of hailstones by creating shock waves.
An explosive mixture of acetylene and oxygen is ignited in the lower chamber of the machine.
Its believed that the shockwave disrupts the growth phase of hailstones.
What would otherwise have fallen as hailstones then falls as slush or rain.
Depending on the size, a single hail cannon can protect a large swath of agricultural land.
Hail cannons were first used in the mid-19th century by Italians.
The effectiveness of hail cannons is inconclusive.
Meteorologists also disagree the science behind the hail cannon, or the lack of.
Meteorologist Steve Johnson explained to Fox News, that the only way to suppress hail is by ice nucleation.
Hail cannons at the 3rd International Congress on Hail Shooting held in Lyons in 1901.Photo credit.
Incidentally, the first hail cannon tested in 1896 was built on this very principle of ice nucleation.
Stinger built a vertical pointing muzzle-loading mortar, resembling an upright megaphone about 2 meters tall.
When fired, the mortar produced large smoke rings that rose to 300 meters.
By 1899 there was 2,000 hail cannons operating in Italy alone.
At the end of 1900, the number grew to 10,000.
Whenever they failed to suppress hail, it was generally blamed on improper firing.
By 1905, cannons were largely abandoned.
Somehow, hail cannons came back into the game, and they have found use beyond agriculture.
Photo credit
Sources:Living Moon/BLDGBLOG/The Forgotten Hail Cannons of Europe/CNN/Eggers
