[neilep (OP)]

My son asked me this a few weeks ago (just after me left for my ...ahem...' sabbatical ')....


We don't really hear much about acid rain any more....global warming is the environmental topic of choice...but is there also acid snow ?, acid frost ?........

Does it have the same acidity as acid rain ?

can you actually drink the stuff ? (once it's melted of course..........or will it give you acid indigestion ?..LOL) []

Is there Alkaline rain/snow ?

[Karen W.]

 This is what I found on acid rain.. there were also other things too! From the web..info at bottom
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Precipitation of whatever form normally
occurs on hygroscopic particles.  These
can be sulfate, salt, etc., that will
dissolve in water.  The type of particle
inherently gives the droplet or snowflake
an acidity or alkalinity; it is usually
acidic.  As rain or snow falls from clouds
they remove other particles and gases
that they run into, thereby absorbing
other acidic particles and gases and
becoming more acidic.  The more that they
collect, the more acidic they become.
Snow, being mostly frozen water, is not
as efficient a collector as rain, so snow
tends to be less acidic than rain.
The typical pH (acidity) of rain in the
Chicago area is 4.4 and of snow is 4.8.
The lower the number, the more acidic the
precipitation is.


David R. Cook
Atmospheric Research Section
Environmental Research Division
Argonne National Laboratory

[Karen W.]

Here is another link to answer about drinking it!

http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/water-education3/39-water-acid-rain.htm

[neilep (OP)]

This is what I found on acid rain.. there were also other things too! From the web..info at bottom
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Precipitation of whatever form normally
occurs on hygroscopic particles.  These
can be sulfate, salt, etc., that will
dissolve in water.  The type of particle
inherently gives the droplet or snowflake
an acidity or alkalinity; it is usually
acidic.  As rain or snow falls from clouds
they remove other particles and gases
that they run into, thereby absorbing
other acidic particles and gases and
becoming more acidic.  The more that they
collect, the more acidic they become.
Snow, being mostly frozen water, is not
as efficient a collector as rain, so snow
tends to be less acidic than rain.
The typical pH (acidity) of rain in the
Chicago area is 4.4 and of snow is 4.8.
The lower the number, the more acidic the
precipitation is.


David R. Cook
Atmospheric Research Section
Environmental Research Division
Argonne National Laboratory

Woo...what a great researcher ewe are Karen mam...This is very helpful for my son !..though why he did not ask it himself here me does not know.

Thank ewe Karen mam.

[neilep (OP)]

Here is another link to answer about drinking it!

http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/water-education3/39-water-acid-rain.htm

Cool link..thank ewe again...YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY !!!

[Karen W.]

Your welcome... Smart boy there.. My Grandma used to have a rain barrel she collected water from.. She washed her hair with it.. said it made her hair alot softer and silky!!

[paul.fr]

Acid snow! Well yes you can have acid snow but it is not as acidic as the rain variety. When rain falls, it absorbs particles from the air. The more it absorbs then the more acidic the rain. Snow on the other hand, is frozen and so although it will collect particles on it's way down, it will not collect as much as rain.

To answer your other question, yes you can also have acid mist, frost...