An apparatus and method for making artificial snow, comprising:
- (a) a housing means having a laterally thereto disposed, first inlet port connectable to a source of compressed air, and having an axially disposed second inlet port connectable to a source of pressurized water;
- (b) a first tubular member having a first portion being provided with a cylindrical inner wall, a multitude of circumferential and longitudinally spaced holes, and an axial to said second inlet port connected entrance aperture;
- as well as being provided with second portion having a diverging inner wall, and an internally threaded exit aperture;
- (c) a second tubular member having a converging inner wall, an externally threaded axial disposed entrance aperture, and an axial disposed exit nozzle to atmosphere;
- (d) a flat disk having a multitude of longitudinally aligned atomizer orifices, being flow restrictive disposed between said exit aperture of said first tubular member, and said entrance aperture of said second tubular member;
- said first tubular member being fixed within said housing means so as to form within an annular chamber surrounding said first portion of said first tubular member;
- and so as to form a fluid communicative passage from said first inlet port through said annular chamber, and via said multitude of holes into said first tubular member;
- as well as to form a second fluid communicative passage from said second inlet port through said first tubular member, and via said atomizer orifices and said second tubular member and exit nozzle into atmosphere;
- said method involves:
- (1) the induction of a steady stream of compressed air through said first inlet port, and the conduction of said compressed air via said annular chamber and said multitude of holes so as to form within said first tubular member a multitude of radially inward directed jets of compressed air;
- (2) the concurrent induction of a steady stream of water at a substantially lower pressure through said second inlet port so as to follow a path, longitudinal through said first tubular member, and via said atomizer orifices and through said second tubular member and said exit nozzle into atmosphere;
- (3) the mixing of said compressed air with said stream of water, within said first tubular member;
- (4) the forcing of said mixture of water and compressed air through said atomizer orifices, thereby causing the partial expansion of said compressed air, and the consequential first atomization, i.e., the formation of a multitude of progressive in longitudinal direction expanding jets of tiny, uniformly sized water droplets being mixed with partially decompressed air;
- (5) the merging of said multitude of jets into a single stream of atomized water droplets mixed with still partially compressed air and the accelerating of said mixture to maximum velocity toward said exit nozzle within said second tubular member;
- (6) the concurrent utilization of the cooling effect generated by the partial expansion of said compressed air for pre-cooling, and thereby partially nucleating said water droplets before egress through said nozzle into atmosphere;
- (7) the final expansion of said still partially compressed air to atmospheric pressure, thereby causing the final atomization of any water not jet being atomized, and the projecting of a plume of finely atomized water droplet from said nozzle, through an trajectory within the colder atmospheric air, along which said droplets freeze into tiny crystalline particle of ice before falling to the ground.