How do clouds form?

What are clouds made of? How do clouds form? How do they stay afloat? How much does a cloud weigh?

For such a common sight in our everyday lives, there are definitely a lot of interesting questions you could ask of clouds.

This video goes about tackling them and some of the answers might surprise you.

Although clouds might look like they are made of gas, they are actually a large mass of tiny drops of liquid water or ice crystals Clouds are usually formed when air rises and the water vapour within it cools. When cooled, the water vapour collides with and sticks to tiny particles floating in the air - these are known as condensation nuclei, which include aerosols such as salt and dust. As the vapour rises and cools, these nuclei provide the surface for the vapour to condense onto. When enough vapour condenses around the nuclei, a cloud droplet is formed. These droplets are so small that a cubic metre of air contains 100 million of them. However, combined to make a cumulus cloud, they can weigh as much as 500 tonnes. That’s roughly 100 elephants. Thankfully the individual water droplets, unlike elephants, are so tiny and spread out that they stay afloat.

Sometimes these water droplets combine to become larger drops or crystals. And if they become large enough and too heavy, they will gradually fall from the sky as - you guessed it - precipitation

Music: Back in Summer by Nicolai Heidlas

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[ChristforLife-JC]

Thank for showing this to me it helped with my school work

[connectwny]

This was the best video I’ve ever seen on how clouds are formed

[wolfdomination]

The condensation nuclei answered my question 💯

[nirmladevi]

Yes it is very hrlpfull to understand how the water droplets are form

[venkatmadduri]

Thank you to whomever made this, of all the videos I watched this one was the easiest to understand.

[bhargavikamath]

me in my mind:clouds look like gas but ts made of different things
.this is cool.its made of watercrystals and some other stuff
.

[kritikapathak]

The process of condensation plays a very important role in bringing back water to earth surface

[GazellaisDragon]

it was nice information about clouds r formed, thanks :)

[ExplainedThroughRap]

Great stuff! We just dropped a rap on this topic - but I love this explanation even more; very concise and easy to understand 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[shainacalma]

Thanks for the explanation, it really helped

[sivaiahborra]

it is just awesome. you people doing fantastic job. please do upload more and more

[EmpyreanLightASMR]

Now I have so many more questions. How do they stay up? A strange comment below suggests they are "resting" on the drier air beneath them. But isn't moisture and air always rising if it's being heated by the earth?

I do understand how we *see* clouds, that's geometric scattering. I've always understood that. I'm still confused how a cloud exists though :)

[thanukiru_]

Thank you very much
It's very useful

[nishasaini]

Very nice aur tu aur mujhe samajh mein bhi a Gaya

[ashwinisharma]

Well explained 👍👍 keep it up like this.. my all doubts are clear now ☺

[nicholefieldbutch]

It's better describe to me in science for kids. So I subscribed to understand clouds better

[luciamarquez]

my head hurts
my will to live gone
this video good
hotel trivago

[imme]

Thanks for this, keep it up with more interesting informative videos, good job

[afellowidiot]

Meanwhile in the future: How to make a cloud

[notwhatiwasraisedb]

what you've explained here is why water can be suspended in the atmosphere (in literally every cm2 of the atmosphere), not why or how a visible clouds form