Smoke from aircraft engines?

Question

Hi,
Of course everyone would have seen long streaks of smoke coming out from engines when aircrafts are flying. I would like to know why such long streaks of smoke are created when aircrafts are flying? see below link for a sample photo -

http://picasaweb.google.com/Philip.Crandon/TravelerPart6NorthernMinnesota/photo#5100586648457325650

Thanks,
Jayanth

Answer 1

Condensation trails burning kerosene jet engines produce H2O and low tempatures at high altitudes produce contrails. There is smoke in there but what your mostly seeing is ice crystals. Jet and gasoline burning piston engine air craft will make the same contrail. It gos like this for every gallon of fuel burned there is a gallon of water produced or released into the air.

Answer 2

When a jet engine is operating it sucks in a lot of air, compresses it, adds fuel then ignites the mixture. This is then forced out the back of the jet. In that "a lot" of air is water vapor, this also gets passed through the engine and is expelled out the exhaust. This hot water vapor (steam) meets the cold air and condenses. This is the long contrails.

It is not the heat of the exhaust affecting the surrounding atmosphere it is the exhaust itself that contains the water.

Answer 3

It is not smoke..they are called contrails and it is mostly water vapor that is condensing at altitude. The contrails are a by-product of the engines(the combustion process) and the
altitude.

Answer 4

What you are seeing is not smoke but contrails that are left from the engine. It is caused by the mixture of the high heat exhaust leaving the engines with the cold air at high altitudes.

Answer 5

.hi Jayanth
Gemeraly airoplane fly in the layer of Stratosphere which is beteween 10 and 50 kms. above the Earth.This is a relatively calm and cool layer and has very less air currents and turbulence.In the abscence of air currents and present of coolness the gass omite from air craft become frized atonce and creat a long streak

Answer 6

The by-products of burning any hydrocarbon (eg gasoline, kerosene, jet fuel, diesel fuel etc) are CO2, CO, heat, and water vapor. What you see are tiny ice crystals that freeze because the air outside the airplane is very very cold.

Answer 7

It's called a contrail. Hot exhaust causes condensation of water vapor in the atmosphere.

Answer 8

the hot exhaust gases contain water vapour and the condense when they hit the low pressure atmosphere of -50 degrees celsius

Answer 9

This is water vapor not smoke from the cold air at high alt.

Answer 10

as above answered, only what your seeing is actually Hydrogen gas, that has not burned properly due to the thin air, which is why it eventually disappears