2007-12-26 13:12:07 · 12 answers · asked by Mike M 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Contrails are caused by two things:
1. Exhaust contains water vapour which condenses once it is out of the engine (because it's cold up there)
2. The plane disturbs the air by creating vortices (including areas of temporary low pressures); in the low pressure areas, the temperature drops and if the air is close to its local saturation point -- or if it is already super-saturated -- the slight drop is sufficient to cause condensation which we see as a cloud.
If the air aloft is really humid, the second one is causing more condensation than the exhaust and the contrail will last a long time. If the air aloft is very dry, the contrail will be only from the exhaust and it will not last very long as the dry air will absorb the humidity from the exhaust.
2007-12-26 13:26:42 · answer #1 · answered by Raymond 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The upper atmosphere is very cold. The particulate matter from the planes exhaust creates condensation nuclei. Cold air holds less moisture, smaller molecules. The contrails you see are ice crystals, similar to cirrus clouds.
You won't see the condensation trail if the aircraft is flying in warm dry air.
2007-12-26 23:41:03 · answer #2 · answered by ? 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Those white stripes are called "contrails".
They are basically clouds that form from the hot air coming out of a plane's engines - that hot air has moisture in it and when it hits the cold air it condenses (forms clouds) behind the plane.
Sometimes you can see more than one contrail - if the cold air has enough moisture in it, the movement of the wing tip causes ice crystals to form behind that tip and it causes a contrail as well.
2007-12-26 21:35:33 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
When the jets fly across the sky jet fuel comes out of the engine and it ends up looking like clouds. It makes a long trail because it's higher up in the atmosphere so jet fuel's mass has no where else to go. That is why it takes so long to fade away.
~Hope I was helpful~
2007-12-26 21:18:05 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
the streams are caused because the jet exhaust is extremely hot, relatively to the cold air outside. The colder the day, the thicker and longer trails of water vapor
2007-12-26 21:21:12 · answer #5 · answered by Synthuir 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The white stream that you see behind the jets is caused by moisture in the air. The drier the air is the shorter the contrail is
2007-12-26 21:16:25 · answer #6 · answered by texas_sandie 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The thing you see is really the trail of smoke from the engines of the aircraft. The smoke is then frozen a little bit because of the low temperature in the high altitute at which the aircraft is flying, and finally because of that you see a white trail of smoke behind the aircraft in the air.
Hope that helps you.
2007-12-26 21:33:45 · answer #7 · answered by Mandalorian 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
To spell out Happy Birthday!
2007-12-26 21:20:19 · answer #8 · answered by JBBass721 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they are the contrails. they consist of water droplets condensing as the most exhaust gases from the planes' engines cool and can no longer hold as such water vapour.
2007-12-27 00:56:50 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Its mostly water vapour condensation from the burning of kerosene.
2007-12-26 21:46:07 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋