I learned how a cloud is made today! You many think that it is made when water evaporates, but that is only half of the story. This post will give you the other half.
The First Principle (in this case)
Ok, so the first and only thing you need to know to understand the other half is the first principle. In a nutshell, it(the principle) is when a pocket of air at ground level starts with a certain humidity level, say, 50%. Now this humidity level is relative to the maximum level it could be at that certain temperature. So this 50% that I’m talking about is 50% of the 100% it could be at the temperature. Remember that.
There’s one thing that I forgot to mention. The colder the air gets, the higher the humidity level gets and vice versa. So anyways, we know that the air on the ground is almost always warmer than the air in the atmosphere. And since warm air likes to rise, so will the air pocket. And here is where many things happen.
One, the air gets colder, so the humidity level goes up. This essentially means that its capacity to hold water decreases. So while it goes up and up, the level goes 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, and finally, 100%. The moment it hits 100%, it reaches its full capacity to hold water, it can’t hold any more. So there you have your cloud!
The Capacity/Humidity Level
The science behind the humidity level is fairly simple. It all starts from the molecules in the air pocket. When molecules get energy in the form of heat, they go absolutely nuts, which creates more separation between them. This separation creates gaps between them, and water can potentially fill them(the gaps) in.
On the other hand, when the molecules get cold, they slow down and kind of clump together, creating less separation. Less separation between them means less space between them for the water to fill in. So less and less water can fill the gaps, until boom! You’ve officially reached 100% humidity level and no more water has the potential to fill you up(if you’re a cloud, which you’re not, we’re human).
So apply this science, and now you understand how the humidity level works.
How Different Types of Clouds are Formed
So now we know how clouds are formed, but obviously this isn’t the way that all clouds are formed. So in this part we’re going to talk about different clouds.
Fog:
Let’s start with fog. Fog is basically a cloud on the ground, but how does that work when warm air likes to rise?
When a pocket of air is formed during the day, there are 2 ways that the humidity level can rise. One way is when the pocket rises and there is less space between molecules, but another way is if it is a warm day and the air is moist, the warm and moist air fills up the pocket of air and increases the humidity level to a higher than normal level.
If there is no wind and this happens, that means that it stays on the ground. When night falls, the air gets colder and gets it to 100%. So a cloud is formed… on the ground. So there you have fog.
Cumulus Clouds:
Now onto cumulus clouds. If the air pocket has a very high humidity level and it’s rising constantly due to strong updrafts. If this combines with the air temperature dropping rapidly, water droplets from the moisture in the humidity of the pocket start forming.
This happens at the same time as the cloud forming. When the updrafts are too weak to keep the pocket rising, the cloud is formed.
Cumulonimbus Clouds:
If the updrafts keep on pushing the pocket up, then the water droplets get bigger , turning the cumulus cloud grey and into a cumulonimbus cloud. How this works is some particles from the humidity level combine with the droplets to make them bigger.
After a certain point, the cloud can’t hold it anymore and all the drops are released in a massive thunderstorm.
Storms and Other Strong Natural Occurrences
Hail:
Hail is created when the updraft from the cumulonimbus cloud is even more unrelenting and keeps the water droplets in the cloud. Since the temperature in the atmosphere is cold, the water droplets freeze. When the cloud can’t take it anymore, you got frozen rain, aka hail.
Hurricanes:
Now onto hurricanes. These behemoths are created in a very unique way. When there are high and low pressure systems, all the clouds go to the low pressure system. And they swirl around it, making the familiar spiral shape.
But why is there always an eye of the hurricane?
Well, this is because of the Coriolis Force. In simple terms, it is a force that pushes objects away from the centre, and you can see it in motion if you put some wood chips into a spinning bowl at the park. All the wood chips are at the sides, not the centre.
Cool and Chill Clouds
Cirrus Clouds:
Cirrus clouds are just these clouds that stay up there and really don’t have any effect on our lives. It is a cloud that is formed the regular, principle way.
Noctilucent Clouds:
Noctilucent clouds are clouds that are formed so high up in the atmosphere that even at night they can catch the glow of the sun over the horizon. If you are lucky enough to see one, they glow like an aurora.
There are a lot more types of clouds, but these are some that emphasize how one factor can drastically change what type of cloud is formed.
I got all this information from:
Everything You Want to Know About Clouds by StarTalk.
Watch the video here -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbuMm0gxFeE
Rafaz Anwar 