This Is How Much a Cloud Weighs

Researchers have calculated that the average cumulus cloud – which is the kind of nice white fluff you see on a clear day – weighs an incredible 500,000 kg (or 1.1 million pounds!).

First of all, you need to realize that a cloud is made up of many small water droplets, which means that it must have some mass.

The next step is to find out how dense your cloud is.

Scientists have known that the water density of this type of cloud is about 1/2 gram of water per cubic meter.

So, as Matt Soniak writes on Mental Floss, it’s about a marble of water in a box big enough for you and a friend to sit in.

Obviously, the density of other cloud types will be greater, but let’s stick with cumulus for now. Once you know the density of your cloud, you need to know how big it is, which is a measurement that also varies widely.

Peggy LeMone, who leads much of the cloud weighing research at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research, calculates that the average cumulus is about a kilometer and is roughly cube-shaped, so it is as tall as it is wide. do the math on that, and you have a cloud with a volume of one billion cubic meters.

Or, as LeMone explained to Soniak, think of it as 100 elephants.

*Looks up nervously*. To begin with, this weight is not all concentrated in one point, it is clearly spread over a large space.

Clouds are also made up of water droplets that are sometimes so small that gravity has almost no effect on them.

And because of condensation, clouds actually rise. Perhaps more surprising is the fact that clouds are actually less dense than dry air, so they float, as Soniak explained.

Learn more in the It’s Okay To Be Smart episode below, and never think of the cloud the same way again.

width=”700″ height=”414″ allowfullscreen=”allowfullscreen” seamless=”seamless”>Source: Mental Floss, It’s All About Being Smart

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