How much clouds weigh

Also, clouds are dynamic. Evaporation and condensation of water occur within the cloud. These changes of state of matter absorb and release energy, changing the temperature within a cloud. Sometimes the air around a cloud becomes warm enough that it can absorb a cloud.

The cloud becomes water vapor dispersed in the air and shrinks or disappears. Other times, clouds do become too heavy to remain aloft. They may sink toward the ground or release precipitation in the form of rain or snow. So now the real question is, how does all this massive weight stay afloat in the sky? What's stopping it from collapsing on our heads at any moment?

To start with, this weight isn't all concentrated in one point, it's obviously spread out over a huge space. Clouds are also made up of water droplets that are sometimes so tiny that gravity has hardly any effect on them. And because of condensation, clouds are actually bouyant. The weight of the water in the cumulus cloud is ,, grams — tonnes. This is about the same as two adult blue whales. What about the other cloud types? A thunderstorm cloud is bigger, measuring about 10 km tall and the same across.

They also contain much more water, which is why they rain so hard: about two grams per cubic metre. Do the maths again and we have 2 million tonnes of water. This has about the same amount of water per cubic metre as the cumulus cloud, but they cover the whole sky. They are often very shallow — perhaps metres thick — but they could easily be km across. Finally, we need to add the weight of the water in the cloud to the weight of the air.

Let us return to our summer cumulus cloud. Where these low clouds are, the air weighs around one kilogram for every cubic metre — 4, times more than the water did. Condensation is more evident when it forms on a cold glass of water on a warm day. It is a little less obvious when it happens in the sky. Water vapor condenses, but is still in incredibly small droplets, and uses heat to create a cycle.

When water turns from liquid to gas, it collects heat and moves it away. When it turns from a gas to a liquid, it brings the heat in. So, when the water in a cloud condenses, it creates more heat, which causes the very updrafts that keep it afloat.

Cloud condensation gets even more interesting when you learn that the vapor needs something to condense to. Most materials that make cloud condensation nuclei are ash or dust stirred up by fires and winds. For a short, fun video explanation on cloud formation, check out this link. The weight of stuff has been an interest of mine ever since I was a child.

What I believe is most fascinating about weight is how extremely heavy some objects are both on earth and in the universe. It's hard to ignore items weighing this much. While most individuals are aware that such heavy-weight things exist, they can Knowing the weight of goods and objects around us allows us to have a better understanding of our surroundings.

A simple examination of our immediate surroundings will reveal many objects weighing Step up to the Scale Clouds are hanging around in the sky, so how do we weigh them?

Storm Cloud A storm cloud carries much more water than a cumulous cloud. Hurricane A hurricane is a truly massive storm that brings incredible power and amounts of water with it. That amount of water could fill over 87, Olympic sized swimming pools!