A molecular cloud, sometimes called a stellar nursery (if star formation is occurring within), is a type of interstellar cloud, the density and size of which permit absorption nebulae, the formation of molecules (most commonly molecular hydrogen, H 2 ), and the formation of H II regions. This is in contrast to other areas of the interstellar medium that contain predominantly ionized gas .
A molecular cloud is an interstellar cloud of gas and dust in which molecules can form, the most common of which is hydrogen (H2).
If you answered yes, you’re correct, and have also answered this question. Clouds are actually made up of very small condensed or frozen water molecules clumping together. There is a misconception that, since they stay in the air, they must be a gas. Gaseous water vapor is still matter, but its invisible.
Yet another question we ran across in our research was “Why don’t water molecules stick together to form cloud droplets?”.
One answer is but by themselves, water molecules are too small to stick together and form cloud droplets. They need a larger, flatter surface on which they can collect. In able for water droplets to form cloud droplets, they must have something—some surface—to condense on. Those “somethings” are tiny particles known as aerosols or condensation nuclei .
What are the ingredients of a cloud?
Although we can’t see it, the first ingredient — water — is always present in the atmosphere as water vapor (a gas). But in order to grow a cloud, we need to get the water vapor from a gas to its liquid form.
Do clouds have energy?
Yes, but it depends on the types of clouds and where those clouds are in the atmosphere. When sunlight hits low clouds, a lot of that light – and heat – is reflected back into space. When sunlight hits clouds that are high in the atmosphere, those clouds reflect less sunlight energy .
Clouds emit energy in proportion to their temperature. Low, warm clouds emit more thermal energy than high, cold clouds. This image illustrates that low clouds emit about the same amount of thermal energy as Earth’s surface does. This is most clearly seen over the Pacific Ocean.
How do clouds affect the climate on Earth?
Usually, the higher a cloud is in the atmosphere, the colder is its upper surface and the greater is its cloud greenhouse forcing. If the Earth had no atmosphere, a surface temperature far below freezing would produce enough emitted radiation to balance the absorbed solar energy. But the atmosphere warms the planet and makes Earth more livable.
Another popular query is “How do clouds affect the Earth’s surface?”.
Clouds within a mile or so of Earth’s surface tend to cool more than they warm. These low, thicker clouds mostly reflect the Sun’s heat. This cools Earth’s surface. Clouds high up in the atmosphere have the opposite effect: They tend to warm Earth more than they cool. High, thin clouds trap some of the Sun’s heat.
Clouds reflect about 50 W m-2 of solar radiation up into space, and radiate about 30 W m-2 down to the ground, so the net effect is 20 W m-2 cooling on average.
Do clouds cool down or warm up the weather?
But it’s a bit complicated: Clouds can both cool down and warm up the temperatures on Earth. Clouds can block light and heat from the Sun, making Earth’s temperature cooler. You’ve probably noticed this kind of cooldown on a cloudy day.
Do clouds trap heat?
Clouds can trap that heat from the Sun. At night, when there’s no sunlight, clouds are still trapping heat. It’s sort of like clouds are wrapping Earth in a big, warm blanket.
However, some heat from the Sun does get down to Earth. Clouds can trap that heat from the Sun. At night, when there’s no sunlight, clouds are still trapping heat. It’s sort of like clouds are wrapping Earth in a big, warm blanket. During the day, clouds can make the temperature on Earth cooler by blocking heat from the Sun.
Why do clouds have different amounts of charge?
The small ones get pushed to the top of the cloud on upcurrents more than the bigger ones. That’s how you get this distribution of charge within the cloud. Some people speculate it might be something to do with the solar wind which is this charged stream of particles coming from the sun, past the Earth’s magnetosphere.
Another frequent query is “How do clouds form electricity for lightning?”.
How is the energy stored? Is it dynamically generated? Chris – The answer is we don’t 100% know. Clouds are made of billions of tiny particles, ice crystals. They’re called hydrometeors and these particles rub against each other in the cloud because the clouds are full of big currents of air.