Why is the bottom of clouds flat?

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Hey!

So i was juste outside looking at the sky and there are many clouds out right now, they’re all of many different sizes and shapes but they all share one common trait. Their underside is flat. I thought it may just be the perspective or lighting but if that’s the case then it’s a very convincing illusion because they all look like they have a flat bottom…

is there a reason for this or is it actually not the case?

In: Physics

4 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

You are probably talking about cumulus clouds. These clouds form when the water vapor (which is invisible) rises above a certain altitude, where the temperature is low enough for it to condense into droplets of water, that form the cloud. This horizontal border is what we see as the flat bottom of the cloud.

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