why do clouds float, even though they're water?

Answer 1

Clouds are actually water vapor and they stay afloat because of rising air, (thermals) air currents, air preasure and winds...When a cloud is on the ground, it is called FOG. I'm a skydiver and I love to free fall through them! We aren't supposed to do that, but we do it anyway.

Answer 2

To understand why it is that water can float, as clouds in the air, one must understand the three states of water, and the narrow temperature rang in which water can change its state from solid, liquid, and gaseous. It is the average speed of the molecules of waters that determine which state it will be in. When the speed slows down the molecules bond together in a crystal structure. The molecules in liquid water are moving fast enough to break free from the crystal structure but are still attached to each other strong enough to allow water to assume the shape of its container. When water turns into a gas its molecules are free to move about.

Water evaporates from its liquid state into the air as a vapor. The amount of water vapor held by the air is called humidity. Warm air can hold more water vapor then can colder air. The way air holds water has to do with the thermal energy of the air, the higher the energy the more water vapor it can keep from forming its hydrogen bond into liquid water.

As the air holding the evaporated water moves higher into the atmosphere it lose some of its thermal energy and the water vapor trapped in the air as humidity slows down enough for molecules to form into small droplet of liquid water. For this precipitation to occur there has to be some dust particle for the water to condensate on. When these droplets form they are suspended in the air as fog or clouds much in the same way as the seed from a dandelion are suspended in the air when it breaks loose from the dandelion flower head.

So the clouds are no longer water vapor, but countless number of water droplets floating about. The greater the thermal (heat) energy at ground level the more water can be lifted into the sky. Because energy can neither be created nor destroyed the thermal energy that the water looses to be able to form its hydrogen bond to make raindrops is converted into latent heat, which makes the air move faster, and creates the wind.

So, clouds float because they can.

Answer 3

Codensation of water vapour in the atmosphere only produce clouds.For cloud droplets to form , condesation nuclei are required.The atmosphere usually has sufficient condensation nuclei in the form of dust particles,tiny particles of salt or droplets of sulphuric acid.When water vapour condenses near the dew point temperature, it clings to the above mentioned nuclei and float in the air as clouds.As they are tiny droplets clinging to the light nuclei, they float.Once the tiny droplets combine together to form big droplets they gain weight and then only start falling as rain.

Answer 4

The droplets of water are really tiny and the pressure from the air keeps them up there.

Answer 5

i think coz the water is warmer,gaseous and less densei.e. due to low density n upthrust the clouds float

Answer 6

I think they are just little rainbubbles floating around in the sky.

Answer 7

why does steam floats, because it is a light shape of water!

Answer 8

They're water in a gaseous form.

Answer 9

i didnt know clouds were water, what about the ones in the summer?