"Cloud physics is the study of the physical processes that lead to the formation, growth and precipitation of atmospheric clouds."
The study of the formation, structure, and properties of clouds, including their role in weather and climate, the water cycle, and atmospheric radiation.
Radiative Transfer: This is important in understanding the formation and characteristics of clouds.
Thermodynamics: The study of heat in relation to the atmosphere and the formation of clouds.
Condensation: The phase transition from gas to liquid in the formation of clouds.
Precipitation: The process and mechanisms of precipitation.
Cloud Formation: The factors affecting cloud formation and the different types of clouds.
Atmospheric Aerosols: Particles suspended in the atmosphere that affect cloud formation.
Cloud Microphysics: The study of cloud particles, their behavior, and the processes that govern their growth and decay.
Atmospheric Dynamics: Understanding the atmosphere and its movements and the effects on weather.
Atmospheric Chemistry: The study of the chemical composition of the atmosphere and its reactions with pollutants.
Cloud Modeling: The development of models to simulate the behavior and formation of clouds.
Remote Sensing: Use of satellites and radar to study and understand atmospheric characteristics.
Weather Forecasting: Predicting and modeling weather patterns and the effects on clouds.
Cirrus clouds: Thin, wispy clouds that are high up in the troposphere, composed of ice crystals.
Cumulus clouds: Thick, puffy clouds that are vertically developed, often with a flat base and a rounded top.
Stratus clouds: Low-lying clouds that cover the entire sky in a grayish sheet, often producing drizzle, fog, or mist.
Altocumulus clouds: Mid-level clouds, often white or grayish in color, consisting of water droplets and sometimes ice crystals.
Altostratus clouds: Gray or blue-gray clouds that can cover the entire sky and are composed of water droplets and/or ice crystals.
Stratocumulus clouds: Low-level, sheet-like clouds that can cover entire areas of the sky, often appearing in rolls, waves or ripples.
Cumulonimbus clouds: Large, towering clouds often associated with thunderstorms and precipitation, frequently producing lightning and hail.
Fog or haze: When visibility is reduced due to tiny water droplets suspended in the air or when pollutants or dust have accumulated, reducing air clarity.
"These aerosols are found in the troposphere, stratosphere, and mesosphere, which collectively make up the greatest part of the homosphere."
"Clouds consist of microscopic droplets of liquid water (warm clouds), tiny crystals of ice (cold clouds), or both (mixed-phase clouds), along with microscopic particles of dust, smoke, or other matter, known as condensation nuclei."
"Cloud droplets initially form by the condensation of water vapor onto condensation nuclei when the supersaturation of air exceeds a critical value according to Köhler theory."
"Cloud condensation nuclei are necessary for cloud droplet formation because of the Kelvin effect, which describes the change in saturation vapor pressure due to a curved surface."
"Raoult's law describes how the vapor pressure is dependent on the amount of solute in a solution. At high concentrations, when the cloud droplets are small, the supersaturation required is smaller than without the presence of a nucleus."
"In warm clouds, larger cloud droplets fall at a higher terminal velocity; because at a given velocity, the drag force per unit of droplet weight on smaller droplets is larger than on large droplets."
"The large droplets can then collide with small droplets and combine to form even larger drops."
"When the drops become large enough that their downward velocity (relative to the surrounding air) is greater than the upward velocity (relative to the ground) of the surrounding air, the drops can fall as precipitation."
"The collision and coalescence is not as important in mixed-phase clouds where the Bergeron process dominates."
"Riming is when a supercooled liquid drop collides with a solid snowflake."
"Aggregation occurs when two solid snowflakes collide and combine."
"The precise mechanics of how a cloud forms and grows is not completely understood."
"Advances in weather radar and satellite technology have also allowed the precise study of clouds on a large scale."
"The supersaturation of air exceeds a critical value according to Köhler theory."
"At high concentrations, when the cloud droplets are small, the supersaturation required is smaller than without the presence of a nucleus."
"The large droplets can then collide with small droplets and combine to form even larger drops."
"Other important processes that form precipitation are riming, when a supercooled liquid drop collides with a solid snowflake, and aggregation, when two solid snowflakes collide and combine."
"Advances in weather radar and satellite technology have also allowed the precise study of clouds on a large scale."
"The study of the physical processes that lead to the formation, growth and precipitation of atmospheric clouds."