How does water stay in a cloud?

How does water stay in a cloud?

The water drops and ice crystals that make up a cloud are floating not because they are soaked up by some sponge-like material that is holding them in place. Rather, the water drops and ice crystals that make up a cloud float because they are so small that the air resistance balances out gravity.

Do clouds really hold water?

Clouds aren’t like buckets, so they don’t really “hold” water like a bucket would. Whether you realize it or not, the air around you is filled with water. Water comes in three forms: liquid (that you drink), solid (ice) and gas (water vapor in the air).

How does the sky hold so much water?

First of all, the droplets of water are very very small, smaller than the head of a pin. Because they are so small they are easily kept up by the rising air. So the reason that clouds can hold water droplets is because the air in clouds is rising, and the rising air keeps pushing the water droplets up.

How does water become rain?

Precipitation forms in the clouds when water vapor condenses into bigger and bigger droplets of water. When the drops are heavy enough, they fall to the Earth. Most rain actually begins as snow high in the clouds. As the snowflakes fall through warmer air, they become raindrops.

Do clouds have gravity?

Clouds generally form, survive and grow in air that is moving upward. So, even though typical clouds do contain a lot of water, this water is spread out for miles in the form of tiny water droplets or crystals, which are so small that the effect of gravity on them is negligible.

Why doesn’t it always rain when there are clouds?

Clouds produce rain when tiny droplets of liquid water begin to stick together, forming larger and larger drops. it won’t produce any rain. For example, if there aren’t enough droplets of water in a cloud to collide and form large drops, the tiny droplets will stay suspended in the air and it won’t rain.

How are clouds made?

Clouds are formed when air contains as much water vapor (gas) as it can hold. In cold clouds ice crystals and water droplets exist side by side. Due to an imbalance of water vapor pressure, the water droplets transfer to the ice crystals. The crystals eventually grow heavy enough to fall to earth.

What do clouds have to do with water?

The Short Answer: Clouds are created when water vapor, an invisible gas, turns into liquid water droplets . These water droplets form on tiny particles, like dust, that are floating in the air. A camera on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image of clouds over the Southern Indian Ocean. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

How does a cloud fill up with water?

Strictly speaking, a cloud does not fill up with water . First of all, a cloud is not a sponge made out of some other material which soaks up water. The water in a cloud is the cloud. More accurately, a cloud consists of very small liquid water drops or ice crystals suspended in air. The water drops and ice crystals that make up a cloud are floating not because they are soaked up by some sponge-like material that is holding them in place.

Do all clouds have water in them?

Not only do clouds have water, they consist almost entirely of water. And that water comes from the earth’s surface, including the ocean, lakes and streams and even the ground.

How does water vapor get high enough to form clouds?

Because air is cooler at higher altitude in the troposphere, water vapor cools as it rises high in the atmosphere and transforms into water droplets by a process called condensation. The water droplets that form make up clouds. Water vapor can also condense into droplets near the ground, forming fog when the ground is cold.