CLIMATES: THE CLOUDS
Clouds: How could you dream on a cloudless day? While contemplating their cotton shapes that sail in the sky, you may be thinking of a hot-air balloon trip or a parachute jump. In reality, clouds are like fog, gray and wet. Despite their infinite variety of shapes, all clouds are made of the same components (water drops and ice crystals ) so small that they float in the air like dust particles. The droplets of the clouds are fine like flour grains: it would take four to cover the width of a hair. It is only when the water drops or ice crystals join together that they become big enough to fall on the ground in rain or snow. Cloud formation: Clouds form when warm air rises and cools to the point of dew. And the temperature at which the water vapour from the air, invisible, begins to condense into droplets. Hot air rises thanks to one of these processes: By convection, when it encounters a physical obstacle such as a sl...
