A cloud is a visible mass of condensed droplets or frozen crystals suspended in the atmosphere above the surface of the Earth or another planetary body. The branch of meteorology in which clouds are studied is nephology.
On Earth, the condensing substance is water vapor, which forms small droplets of water (typically 0.01 mm of ice crystals) that, when surrounded with billions of other droplets or crystals, are visible as clouds. Dense deep clouds exhibit a high reflectance (70 to 95%) throughout the visible range of wavelengths: they thus appear white, at least from the top. Cloud droplets tend to scatter light very efficiently, so that the intensity of the solar radiation decreases with depth into the cloud, hence the grey or even sometimes dark appearance of the clouds at their base. Thin clouds may appear to have acquired the color of their environment or background, and clouds illuminated by non-white light, such as during sunrise or sunset, may be colored accordingly. In the near-infrared range, however, clouds would appear very dark because the water that constitutes the cloud droplets strongly absorb solar radiation at these wavelengths.
2006-09-25 05:45:50
·
answer #1
·
answered by joe b 2
·
0⤊
0⤋
Clouds
2006-09-24 11:27:00
·
answer #2
·
answered by ? 6
·
1⤊
1⤋
Clouds are basically just a form of water. When water evaporates into water vapor, it rises and collects up in the sky, forming clouds. So clouds are just water vapor.
This is also why it sometimes rains on cloudy days. When the clouds collect to much water vapor, they become to heavy. The water vapor condenses into water and that water falls to the earth.
2006-09-24 11:28:34
·
answer #3
·
answered by Manan T 3
·
0⤊
1⤋
clouds are like visible water vapor. made up of tiny little droplets of water that have evaporated and is turned into a cloud. now when a cloud turns gray that means the water vapor is getting heavy and i going to precipitate (rain, sleet, hail, snow etc...).
2006-09-24 13:41:01
·
answer #4
·
answered by ally 3
·
1⤊
0⤋
Water vapour.
2006-09-24 11:44:54
·
answer #5
·
answered by darl66 1
·
0⤊
0⤋
tiny water droplets that are evaporated from the water sources on the ground, eventually they will fall in rain or snow
2006-09-24 11:27:24
·
answer #6
·
answered by Aazim S 2
·
0⤊
1⤋
water
2006-09-24 21:36:17
·
answer #7
·
answered by ~~ 7
·
0⤊
0⤋
Water Vapours n Gases
SUKHDEEP SINGH
$_UK_HI
$
2006-09-24 11:31:06
·
answer #8
·
answered by sukhdeep 2
·
0⤊
1⤋
Cotton wool.
2006-09-24 11:26:56
·
answer #9
·
answered by ada wong 4
·
0⤊
1⤋
water
2006-09-24 11:26:31
·
answer #10
·
answered by QB 3
·
1⤊
1⤋