Are clouds really solid?

Answer 1

no clouds are not solid they are made up of water vapor and gas. Clouds are formed when air contains as much water vapor (gas) as it can hold. This is called the saturation point, and it can be reached in two ways. First, moisture accumulates until it reaches the maximum amount the volume of air can hold. The other method reduces the temperature of the moisture filled air, which in turn lowers the amount of moisture it can contain. Saturation, therefore, is reached through evaporation and condensation, respectively. When saturation occurs, moisture becomes visible water droplets in the form of fog and clouds.

It should be noted that condensation by itself does not cause precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, hail). The moisture in clouds must become heavy enough to succumb to gravity and return to earth's surface. This occurs through two processes. 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 crystal seventually grow heavy enough to fall to earth. In the second process, water droplets in warm clouds collide and change their electric charge.Droplets of unlike charge attract one another and merge, thereby growing until they have sufficient weight to fall.

There is no difference between fog and clouds other than altitude. Fog is defined as a visible moisture that begins at a height lower than 50 feet. If the visible moisture begins at or above 50 feet, it is called a cloud. Two common types of fog are called radiation fog and advection fog. Radiation fog forms during the night as the earth's surface cools and the air immediately above it cools in turn by conduction. If the air is moist enough, the cooling causes it to reach saturation and visible water droplets form. We often call this type of fog ground fog because it lies so close to the surface. Advection fog forms when warm moist air moves over a colder surface (advection means to move horizontally). A perfect example is on the west coast of continents. Prevailing westerly winds move moist air from over a warm ocean area to over the colder waters off the coast. Fog forms and is carried by the westerly over the land.

Clouds can form anywhere in the troposphere, and although condensed liquid, they are light enough to float in the air and move from place to place by the wind. Clouds are classified according to appearance and height. Based on appearance, there are two major types: Clouds of vertical development, formed by the condensation of rising air; and clouds that are layered, formed by condensation of air without vertical movement. When clouds are classified by height, there are four classes: high, middle, low, and vertical development.

Cloud names, of which there are twelve, combine appearance and height. A brief description of the root name will indicate this combination of features.

Answer 2

Have you ever been in a fog? In a way, a cloud is a patch of fog up in the sky - and anything but solid. Mind you, cloud nine is so thick a fog most people drown in it, and I'd call that pretty solid.

Answer 3

No, clouds are made up of water vapor and water droplets. So a cloud is a mixture of gas and liquid (mostly gas).

Answer 4

how would they stay in the air if they wer solid?!?! u dont see houses flying around do u?? if a cloud was a solid then it wouldnt be able to fight back against gravity!!

Answer 5

clouds are not solid, in fact they are water vapor formations...
below are cloud types for you info/studies...



Clouds are defined by their general appearance and level in the atmosphere.


Cirrus clouds are curly or fibrous

Stratus clouds are flat and/or layered

Cumulus clouds are puffy and piled up.


Additionally, a prefix is frequently given to the cloud name to indicate what level of the atmosphere it is in.

Cirro is the prefix given to high clouds, those with bases above 20,000 feet.
Alto is the prefix given to mid-level clouds, those between 6,000 and 20,000 feet.
Nimbo added to the beginning, or nimbus added to the end of a cloud name means the cloud is producing precipiation.

The system is by no means uniform. There is no term for low clouds, and there are some odd joinings, such as stratocumulus, which is a cloud with two different shapes.

So here's how some cloud types stack up...

Cloud Type
Appearance
Altitude

Cumulonimbus Thunderheads Near ground to above 50,000 feet
Cirrostratus Thin, wispy, above thunderheads Above 18,000 feet
Cirrus Thin, often with "mare's tail" Above 18,000 feet
Cirrocumulus Small puffy clouds Above 18,000 feet
Altostratus Thin, uniform, sometimes with "wide wale corduroy" appearance 6,000 - 20,000 feet
Altocumulus Medium-sized puffy clouds 6,000 - 20,000 feet
Stratocumulus Broad and flat on the bottom, puffy on top Below 6,000 feet
Cumulus Puffy clouds Below 6,000 feet
Stratus Uniform, thick to thin layered clouds Below 6,000 feet

Answer 6

If clouds were solid the planes, birds, hot air balloons and space rockets would crash into them. So i'd say erm . . . . . Nope

Answer 7

Wake up, smell the coffee, it's 2006, the 21st century. Clouds are puffy balls of aerated sugar candy.

Answer 8

Clouds are just huge groupings of H2O, but in gas form.

Answer 9

how can they possibly be solid!!! Planes fly through them all the time. It's obviously made from condensed water vapour

Answer 10

They are gasous and eventually condense into liquid and fall as rain. snow doesn't count because once it starts to fall it is no longer part of the cloud, be rain, snow, sleet or hail.

Answer 11

no clouds are water vapour when it comes in contact with cold air it condenses and forms rain