eli5 How does gravity pull down a light feather but not a rain cloud that weighs 1 million pounds?
In: Physics
Your problem is thinking of it as a “weight”. 1 million pounds describes the total mass of the cloud, how much “stuff” it consists of. But a cloud is not a solid object, it behaves like a fluid and will easily move in the air due to thermal/pressure differences or wind. The other thing you’re missing is buoyancy, in fluid dynamics something can only fall if it is denser than the fluid below it; the same reason a plank of wood can float in water despite gravity pulling it down.
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