Acid rain — how is it formed and what are its effects?
Acid rain is a phenomenon that has been observed and studied for many years, but the effects it causes have long remained underestimated. The current state of scientific knowledge makes it clear how serious the consequences, not only for the world of flora, but also for living organisms and infrastructure, are of acidified precipitation. What are acid rain? How are they formed? These and other questions are answered below.
Under ideal conditions, precipitation has a neutral reaction, that is, its pH value is about 7. In practice, in most cases we are dealing with slightly acidic precipitation. This is because rainwater mixes with oxides that naturally occur in the air. The real problem occurs only when its pH drops below 5.6.
What is acid rain?
The first to describe the phenomenon of acid rain was Robert Boyle — a British chemist and physicist — in 1692. The concept of acid rain itself was not introduced and systematized until 180 years later, when Robert Angus Smith — a Scottish chemist — published the book “Air and Rain: The Beginnings of Chemical Climathology.”
When talking about acid rain, what is meant is atmospheric precipitation with a pH lower than 5.6, resulting from the reaction of water with gases present in the air. The volatile substances in question…
