Eli5: If water is transparent, why are clouds white?

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Eli5: If water is transparent, why are clouds white?

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If glass is transparent, why is a handful of tiny glass chips white? For the same reason. All those small particles (droplets of water in the clouds, or the glass chips) reflect light in all directions, until light has a hard time getting through, and is dispersed in all directions.

The result is a white opaque mass.

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