[justa-hairyape]

It takes a lot of energy to create gamma rays and they are dangerous. Concerning the creation of rain - There are two primary factors. First you have to get water into the atmosphere in the form of water vapor (gas). That primarily occurs over the worlds oceans via evaporation. The rate of evaporation is determined by temperature, wind speed and the density of water vapor in the atmosphere (how much water vapor the atmosphere is already holding).

The second primary factor involves converting that water gas (water vapor) into liquid water (cloud moisture). Now gamma rays help with the conversion of vapor to water. The more water vapor in the atmosphere, the more liquid water can be converted. Basically in a high gamma ray environment the atmosphere will have less water vapor and more water moisture.

In a nutshell - Your normal Texas rain was actually deposited in the Western Mountain ranges this year.

[Campion]

It's not "gamma rays" but "cosmic rays". Gamma rays are photons, like light or radio waves. Cosmic "rays" are charged high-energy particles, mostly nuclei of light to slightly-heavier atoms.

Sunspots are caused by magnetic field changes on the sun. Those field changes also tend to shield us from cosmic rays. (Cosmic rays are charged, remember, and charged particles will change their path in a magnetic field.) More sunspots, less cosmic rays. Less sunspots, more cosmic rays.

What the CERN guys have shown is that cosmic rays cause particles to form in the upper atmosphere that seed cloud formation. More clouds increase the earth's "albedo" (reflectivity), lowering surface temperature (b/c more solar radiation is reflected back into space).

Now the progression is:

more sunspots -> fewer cosmic rays -> fewer clouds -> warmer earth

less sunspots -> more cosmic rays -> more clouds -> cooler earth

It's been known for some time that more sunspots seemed to correlate to a warmer climate. This science explains why.

[caww]

Interesting.....thanks for the explanation.