How much do clouds weigh?
Please Login to ask or answer a question, or Register if you do not have a WryteStuff Account.
Answers to this question:
Hmm...since they float on different levels of the troposphere relatively close to earth, I would guess they weigh just a little less than the 14.7 psi that air weighs at sea level. Mountain top air weighs less.
The higher you go in the atmosphere, the less air (pressure) weighs. The weight of clouds would seem to correspond to their height above the Earth and to the upward strength of any warm air convection current beneath them at the moment.
I can't put an exact value on it.
I could calculate it but I would need to know, temperature, volume of cloud, the height of the cloud (for GFS) and the density of the air around it. Plus the chemical constitution of the clound as different elements/compounds have different masses.
It's quite complex.
same as wind.
Freaking hilarious. Laughing very hard.
How much do clouds weigh, I have no answer but the water vapor in the atmosphere, also known as clouds become condensed and heavy, droplets begin to fall as rain.
Selected as Best Answer!
This isn't so hard. Let's take the Ideal Gas Law. PV = nRT, where P is Pressure, V is Volume, n is number of moles, R is the Universal Gas constant, and T is temperature (Kelvin). You want to solve for weight, which can really only be the number of moles in the gas. To calculate this, you divide each side by RT, you get n = PV/RT. Pressure would probably be something below 1 atm (101.325 kPa), volume would be volume of the cloud, R is your 0.0821 L*atm/mol*K, and T is its temperature (K). That gives you the value of n, which is just the number of moles. Then, multiply n by M, or the molar mass of the substance. For a cloud, it would probably by an uneven mixture of Nitrogen, Carbon Dioxide, Oxygen, Hydrogen, and some other things. With m(mass) = n (number of moles) * M (molar mass), you get the mass, or the grams of the cloud. For those who want non-metric units, 1 pound = 453 grams. And poof, you got the weight of the cloud. (Hint: It's not zero.)
Total Answers: 6, Total Page Views: 1,633.As much as the amount of water that drops during rainfall.
The best answer has been selected.
The WryteStuff Q&A section is for entertainment and civil discourse only. As always, if you need professional advice, seek the advice of a professional.
