Dr. Bernard Vonnegut (August 29, 1914 – April 25, 1997) was an American atmospheric scientist credited with discovering that silver iodide could be used effectively in cloud seeding to produce snow and rain. He is the older brother of American novelist Kurt Vonnegut.
Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, receiving his B.S. in chemistry (1936) and Ph.D. in physical chemistry (1939).
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Dr. Bernard Vonnegut (August 29, 1914 – April 25, 1997) was an American atmospheric scientist credited with discovering that silver iodide could be used effectively in cloud seeding to produce snow and rain. He is the older brother of American novelist Kurt Vonnegut.
Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, receiving his B.S. in chemistry (1936) and Ph.D. in physical chemistry (1939).
In 1945, Vonnegut went to work at the General Electric Research Laboratory in Schenectady, New York. It was there, on November 14, 1946, that he discovered that silver iodide could be used as a nucleating agent to seed clouds. Seeding clouds involves inserting large quantities of a nucleating agent into clouds to facilitate the formation of ice crystals. The intent of this process is to cause the clouds to produce rain or snow. Rain- and snow-making companies still use silver iodide as a nucleating agent in seeding clouds.
Vonnegut left General...
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