Falling raindrops could have big impact on fragile tissues of birds or insects, but somehow they fly through rain storms without damage. National Academy of Sciences USA published a report to explain this in June called "How a Raindrop Gets Shattered on Biological Surfaces."
A camera recorded drops hitting insects, bird feathers, and plant leaves at 5,000-20,000 frames per second:
"[W]hen the impacting raindrops approached the tissue surfaces, the surfaces generated shock-like surface waves. The shock waves disrupted the spreading raindrops at the point of where air meets liquid. These perturbations then triggered ruptures and holes, breaking the falling raindrops in each case into dozens of tiny satellite droplets."
Watch the raindrop break up in this 5-second clip.
It's another amazing feature in the design of life forms.
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