Fluffy white-haired horses or dark thunderclouds, a light smeared veil or bright scarlet beauty at sunset. What are clouds for meteorologists, air traffic controllers and romantic poets? Perhaps for us it is something more than just water vapor. Airy white pillows are sung in many songs and poems. Pilots and skydivers seek to gawk from above at the boundless beauty of cotton masses.
They are called new inventions (like, for example, the Internet space), soft beds, are included in cookbooks (like a description of air cakes and other desserts) and a dream book (clouds in a dream allow one to judge the level of spiritual harmony of a person).
As you can see, this is a rather capacious concept and word. How to answer the children's question, what are clouds? Firstly, it must be said that this is a very light air formation. Indeed, in many cartoons, funny characters jump, ride, walk on them. Say that this is a collection of droplets of evaporated water, heated air, fog, so to speak, only much higher above the ground. Unfortunately, you cannot touch them, but you can admire them endlessly.
We see very beautiful white clouds when their densityvery 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, then this means that the concentration of water droplets does not allow light to get through them.
Dust and soot can also attach to these small particles of liquid, coloring the clouds we see in even more gloomy and menacing colors.
In geography lessons, we learned that there are a large number of varieties of clouds. They are distinguished depending on the view from the ground, the height of their location, the danger that can be expected from them. Three main species - cirrus, stratus and cumulus - formed all the other intermediate ones.
What are clouds of the first type and what do they consist of? We can see them on a clear day high up in the sky like smeared white paint. Their movement is not visible to the naked eye. Such clouds consist mainly not of drops, but of water crystals, since at an altitude where they are located (up to fourteen kilometers), it is very cold.
There are a lot of layered accumulations of steam with the expected change in weather. From the ground, they are white-gray in color and usually arrive in a large "company" at once, promising a cold snap or rain.
Cumulus clouds are the closest formations to us. They can be located already from four hundred meters above the ground. Usually, such “cotton balls” float in the sky in good weather, reminding us of various animals, household items, or even people we know. Who would have thought: the last kindwater accumulations can be very dangerous when taking off or landing an aircraft, as it significantly impairs the visibility of the pilot…
In general, what are clouds for an air traffic controller or an aviator? It is an important indicator of the present and future weather during flight, ascent and landing. The type, their number and height make it possible to judge the turbulence and even thunderstorms awaiting the pilot and passengers and find an opportunity to avoid problems on the flight in time. 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.
