✨ Wonder

How a raindrop sets the smell free

When a raindrop hits dry soil, it traps a tiny air bubble. The bubble bursts and launches scent molecules into the air — straight to your nose.

1. The drop falls 2. Bubble is trapped 3. Scent rises 4. Nose detects it SOIL
Raindrop
Air bubble
Scent molecule (geosmin)
Dry soil + bacteria
1 / 1,000,000,000
how faint we can still smell it
~0.01 s
how long the bubble lives
Petrichor
the name of the smell