I’m sure you’ve seen clouds slowly disappear in the sky. What’s happening to them? Where does their water content go? Do they go higher up to form new clouds?
In: 1
They get reabsorbed into the air. The air the cloud is in has either decreased in humidity or increased in temperature so it can now hold more water, so the tiny droplets that make up the cloud just get soaked back up by the air they’re surrounded by.
They get reabsorbed into the air. The air the cloud is in has either decreased in humidity or increased in temperature so it can now hold more water, so the tiny droplets that make up the cloud just get soaked back up by the air they’re surrounded by.
inbetween air particles (molecules) are free spaces with nothing.
the more energy the air particles get, the warmer they get and the more they move around.
the more they move around, the more space they need.
this means they are further apart if they are warmer than if they are colder.
water particles (molecules) can sit inbetween the air particles.
rhe more space there is inbetween the air particles, the more water particles can sit inbetween the spaces.
when the air cools, the water cant sit between the air particles anymore multiple water particles combine into droplets.
if the air gets even colder. the droplets get too bug to float and fall to the earth. if the air gets warmer ahain, the water droplets disperse and go sit between the air particles again.
inbetween air particles (molecules) are free spaces with nothing.
the more energy the air particles get, the warmer they get and the more they move around.
the more they move around, the more space they need.
this means they are further apart if they are warmer than if they are colder.
water particles (molecules) can sit inbetween the air particles.
rhe more space there is inbetween the air particles, the more water particles can sit inbetween the spaces.
when the air cools, the water cant sit between the air particles anymore multiple water particles combine into droplets.
if the air gets even colder. the droplets get too bug to float and fall to the earth. if the air gets warmer ahain, the water droplets disperse and go sit between the air particles again.
Clouds are liquid or solid water in a, well, cloud of tiny drops/crystals.
Water can also exist as a gas called water vapor. This is invisible. We think of water vapor as “steam,” since that is the point at which water *must* be a vapor, but even at cold temperatures, there is water vapor dissolved into the air. The amount of water vapor that can exist in a given space depends on the pressure and temperature. So sometimes, the atmospheric conditions in one area condense that water vapor into drops or crystals (water can even exist as a gas at sub freezing temps, but it can’t really exist as a liquid, so it goes straight from gas to ice crystal, and vice versa), and we see bajillions of these as a cloud. The cloud drifts into warmer areas or lower pressures and these tiny drops/crystals spread out and turn back into gases.
Clouds are liquid or solid water in a, well, cloud of tiny drops/crystals.
Water can also exist as a gas called water vapor. This is invisible. We think of water vapor as “steam,” since that is the point at which water *must* be a vapor, but even at cold temperatures, there is water vapor dissolved into the air. The amount of water vapor that can exist in a given space depends on the pressure and temperature. So sometimes, the atmospheric conditions in one area condense that water vapor into drops or crystals (water can even exist as a gas at sub freezing temps, but it can’t really exist as a liquid, so it goes straight from gas to ice crystal, and vice versa), and we see bajillions of these as a cloud. The cloud drifts into warmer areas or lower pressures and these tiny drops/crystals spread out and turn back into gases.
Water vapor is what water evaporates into: some of the liquid on the surface gains enough energy to turn into gas.
In fact, right now, in the air in your room, there is water in vapor form. It’s all around you. You’re breathing it. You can’t see it.
Fog is what it looks like when tiny droplets of water vapor turn back into liquid and stay suspended in the air. It’s the opposite of evaporarion: condensation. The droplets are so tiny, they don’t sink. They stay suspended in the air.
When clouds form, it’s just like fog, but high up in the atmosphere. Just like water in a cup, water in clouds also evaporates and turn back into invisible water vapor (gas). It goes back and forth all the time.
Water vapor is what water evaporates into: some of the liquid on the surface gains enough energy to turn into gas.
In fact, right now, in the air in your room, there is water in vapor form. It’s all around you. You’re breathing it. You can’t see it.
Fog is what it looks like when tiny droplets of water vapor turn back into liquid and stay suspended in the air. It’s the opposite of evaporarion: condensation. The droplets are so tiny, they don’t sink. They stay suspended in the air.
When clouds form, it’s just like fog, but high up in the atmosphere. Just like water in a cup, water in clouds also evaporates and turn back into invisible water vapor (gas). It goes back and forth all the time.
Most of the time, air has some water vapor in it. (Water vapor is the gas form of water: the water molecules are far apart. It’s also invisible. Steam is water droplets too.)
The amount of water that a given ‘parcel’ contains depends on its temperature. Clouds form when the water vapor is too much and the air cannot carry it anymore. A major way is when moist air rises it cools off. Cooler air can’t carry as much water. That water has to go somewhere, so it condenses. One way to reverse it is heating that. That’s how sun “burns off” fog. So the cloud water is still there, it’s just in the form of invisible water vapor.
https://climatekids.nasa.gov/cloud-formation/
Most of the time, air has some water vapor in it. (Water vapor is the gas form of water: the water molecules are far apart. It’s also invisible. Steam is water droplets too.)
The amount of water that a given ‘parcel’ contains depends on its temperature. Clouds form when the water vapor is too much and the air cannot carry it anymore. A major way is when moist air rises it cools off. Cooler air can’t carry as much water. That water has to go somewhere, so it condenses. One way to reverse it is heating that. That’s how sun “burns off” fog. So the cloud water is still there, it’s just in the form of invisible water vapor.
https://climatekids.nasa.gov/cloud-formation/
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