eli5: Why do airplanes have a cloudy trail behind them?

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I feel like when I look up, 9/10 time there’s going to be a trail behind the plane, but if I go on a flight I never see it happen. Is it a specialty plane or something?

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6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Yea, so due to the way a wing’s shape enables the plane to fly. It’s splits the air and the trail you see is a disturbance in the air. If you look further behind the plane you can often see the trail disappearing as the air molecules all settle back into place. It can be seen from the plane but it must be under the right conditions. There are conspiracy theories that you might hear about regarding “chem-trails” these are false.

Edit: it’s has been made clear I am completely wrong.

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