Fluffy white-maned horses or dark thunderclouds, light smeared shroud or bright scarlet beauty at sunset. What are clouds for meteorologists, air traffic controllers and romantic poets? Perhaps for us it is more than just water vapor. Airy white pillows are sung in many songs and poems. Pilots and paratroopers strive to stare at the boundless beauty of the cotton masses from above.
They are called new inventions (such as Internet space), soft beds, are brought into cookbooks (such as descriptions of air cakes and other desserts) and dream books (clouds in a dream make it possible to judge the level of a person’s spiritual harmony).
As you can see, this is a fairly comprehensive concept and word. How to answer children the question of what are clouds? Firstly, it must be said that this is a very light air formation. Indeed, in many cartoons, funny heroes jump, ride, walk on them. Say that this is a collection of droplets of evaporated water, the heated air, so to say the fog, is only much higher above the ground. Unfortunately, they cannot be touched, but you can endlessly admire.
We see very beautiful white clouds when their density is very small, which allows the rays of the sun to pass through the fluffy masses. And if dark (blue or gray) lumps have accumulated above us, this means that the concentration of water droplets does not allow light to penetrate through them.
Dust particles and soot can also attach to these small particles of liquid, coloring the clouds we see in even more gloomy and formidable colors.
In geography classes, we taught that a large number of varieties of clouds stand out. They are distinguished depending on the type of land, the height of their location, the danger that can be expected from them. The three main species — cirrus, stratus, and cumulus — all other intermediate species are formed.
What are clouds of the first type and what are they made of? We can see them in clear weather, high and high in the sky like smeared white paint. Their movement is not noticeable to the naked eye. Such clouds mainly consist not of drops, but of water crystals, since it is very cold at the height where they are located (up to fourteen kilometers).
There are many layered accumulations of steam with the expected change in weather. From the ground they are white-gray in color and usually fly by a large "company" immediately, promising cooling or rains.
Cumulus clouds are the closest formations to us. They can be located already four hundred meters above the ground. Usually such "cotton balls" float across the sky in good weather, reminding us of various animals, household items, or even people we know. Who would have thought: the last form of water accumulations can be very dangerous when taking off or landing an aircraft, as it significantly affects the visibility of the pilot …
In general, what are clouds for an air traffic controller or aviator? This is an important indicator of the present and future weather when flying, lifting up and landing. The view, their number and altitude make it possible to judge the expecting pilot and passengers of turbulence and even thunderstorms and in time to find an opportunity to avoid problems on the flight. And special devices will help professionals determine the water content of clouds (that is, the density of water droplets in them) and, accordingly, make the right decisions about the movement of iron birds in the air.
