Environmental science
What is Acid Rain?
Acid rain is a rain or any other form of precipitation like rain, fog, snow, or hail that contains harmful substances higher than normal amounts of such as nitrogen and sulfur oxides, that is unusually acidic, meaning that it possesses elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Acid rain is also called acid deposition because this term includes other forms of acidic precipitation such as snow. The acid deposition is occurs in two way which is wet deposition and dry deposition. It can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Acid rain is caused by emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which react in the atmosphere with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form various acidic compounds. The precursors, or chemical forerunners, of acid rain formation result from both natural sources, such as volcanoes and decaying vegetation, and man-made sources, primarily emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) resulting from fossil fuel combustion. However, major human sources do come from the industry, transportation, and a variety of power plants. When sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released from power plants and other sources, prevailing winds blow these compounds, sometimes over hundreds of miles. The acid rain causes a drastic increase of the acidity of the precipitation and does also harm plants, humans, and buildings.
Definition of Acid Rain
"Acid rain" is a popular term referring to the deposition of wet (rain, snow, sleet, fog, cloud water, and dew) and dry (acidifying particles and gases) acidic components. Distilled water, once carbon dioxide is removed, has a neutral pH of 7. Liquids with a pH less than 7 are acidic, and those with a pH greater than 7 are alkaline. "Clean" or unpolluted rain has an acidic pH, but usually no lower than 5.7, because carbon dioxide and water in the air react together to form