• Question: What shape are raindrops?

    Asked by nyancatt to Andrew on 23 Nov 2011.
    • Photo: Andrew Cairns

      Andrew Cairns answered on 23 Nov 2011:

      I would say that they are teardrop shaped, although I am not certain! Water when it drops pretty much forms a perfectly spherical drop due to the surface tension though, so that might be the right answer. The sphere is a very efficient shape that almost anything will form given a chance!

      According to the internet they are originally spherical (as mentioned above) but as they accelerate towards the earth the rush of air around it actually causes the bottom surface to flatten and the top remains spherical. The comparison they used is that they are like burger buns – I guess that makes sense!

      Have a look at the diagram in this website:
      http://weather.about.com/od/cloudsandprecipitation/a/rainburgers.htm

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