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What are clouds made of


A cloud is made of water drops or ice crystals floating in the sky.


How do clouds form?

The sky can be full of water. But most of the time you can't see the water. The drops of water are too small to see. They have turned into a gas called water vapor. As the water vapor goes higher in the sky, the air gets cooler. The cooler air causes the water droplets to start to stick to things like bits of dust, ice, or sea salt.


What are some types of clouds?

A. On the basis of where they are found in the sky 

1. High clouds

2. Mid clouds

3. Low clouds - can even touch the ground (in case of fog)


Valentin de Bruyn / CotonThis illustration has been created for Coton, the cloud identification guide for mobile., CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons


B. On the basis of shape

1. Cirrus clouds (high) - feather-like

Cirrus clouds  - feather like
 Simon A. Eugster, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

2. Cumulus clouds (mid) -  giant cotton balls

Cumulus clouds - giant cotton balls 
James St. John, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

3. Stratus clouds (low) -  cover the sky like bed sheets 

Stratus clouds - bed sheets in the sky 
Daniel Akuoko, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons


What causes rain?

Most of the water in clouds is in very small droplets. The droplets are so light they float in the air. Sometimes those droplets join with other droplets. Then they turn into larger drops. When that happens, gravity causes them to fall to Earth. We call the falling water drops "rain". When the air is colder, the water may form snowflakes instead. Freezing rain, sleet, or even hail can fall from clouds.


Sleet- a mixture of rain and snow. 

Hail- small balls of ice (hailstones) that fall from the sky like rain.


Why do we study clouds?

At night, clouds reflect heat and keep the ground warmer. During the day, clouds make a shade that can keep us cooler. Studying clouds helps us better understand Earth's weather.


Mars has clouds that are like clouds on Earth. 

Jupiter has clouds made of ammonia gas. 

 

Clouds are aerosol (an aerosol is a suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in air or another gas)  = miniature liquid droplets +frozen crystals + other particles suspended in the air. 


On Earth, clouds are formed 

  1. As a result of saturation of the air when it is cooled to its dew point.
  2. When it gains sufficient moisture (usually in the form of water vapor) from an adjacent source to raise the dew point to the ambient temperature.


Dew point? 

The temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated with water vapor(assuming constant air pressure and water content) 

When cooled below the dew point, moisture capacity is reduced and airborne water vapor will condense to form liquid water known as dew. 

Dew point is affected by humidity. 

When the temperature is below the freezing point of water, the dew point is called the frost point, as frost is formed via deposition rather than condensation. 

Dew point and frost point are similar. 

(at dew point vapor condenses to form water) 

(at frost point ice crystals are formed without going liquid phase).

Location: India

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