What Is Called The Smell Of Soil After The Rain?
The scent comes from the ground (wet soil) when it rains. There is a science behind it. There is also a unique name for this scent, 'Petrichor,' and it is so pleasant that some companies manufacture similar fragrances.
Mark Butler, a professor of microbiology in the UK, said; Clay contains a lot of germs, so when you smell wet soil, you are actually smelling the molecule that produces a certain kind of germ.
Brief Technicality Of Why Soil Smells When It Rains
When the raindrops hit the soil, the molecule disperses into the air and reaches people's noses to give them a sense of aroma. The name of this molecule is glycine, and the bacterium that produces it is Streptomyces. This is the same germ from which antibiotics are also manufactured.
Paul Beischer of Swedish Agricultural University has seen soil samples from several places where there were batches of Streptomyces. At first, they thought the unique smells they released were toxic and poisonous to them, as some bacteria in this group are also toxic.
But now it is known that bacteria produce this smell, so they can attract bugs (insects) and crabs without the backbone, so they can approach the bacteria and take them further. This process is sped up after the rain.
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Tags: Wet Soil, Soil Smell, Wet Soil Fragrance, Wet Soil Scent, Streptomyces, Petrichor