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Victoria Corty

Clouds: Can We Touch Them?

Updated: Aug 26, 2022

Look up! What do you see other than a pastel blue sky and fluffy white clouds? Click here to know more about these wispy white patches in the sky!

Figure 1: A picture of the clouds in the sky


How are Clouds Formed?


The process in which clouds are made is very interesting. Clouds form when the invisible water vapor in the air condenses into visible water droplets or ice crystals. For this to happen, the parcel of air must be saturated, i.e unable to hold all the water it contains in vapor form, so it starts to condense into a liquid or solid form. As long as the cloud and the air that it's made of is warmer than the outside air around it, it floats!


Why are Clouds White?


The explanation of why clouds are white is actually pretty straightforward. Clouds are white because the light rays emitted from the Sun are white.


What is the Average Weight of a Cloud?


Despite clouds having the capability to float, but they are in fact quite heavy. As per research, an average cumulus cloud weighs an incredible 500,000 kg (or 1.1 million pounds!) - the equivalent weight of 100+ elephants! Despite its immense weight, a cloud will - luckily - not fall on your head because its droplets are extremely small and can be spread over miles.

Can We Touch Clouds?


Surely you have once thought about how it would feel to touch a cloud - they seem so light and fluffy! But how would they actually feel? Unfortunately, clouds are just made of millions of tiny liquid water droplets, so your hand won't feel anything but a little moisture. Interestingly enough, you have probably touched a cloud already! Although slightly different, fog is technically considered a cloud, just airborne like the ones in the sky. If you would like to one day touch an airborne cloud, you could skydive or ride in a hot air balloon.


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