How Do Clouds Stay Up in the Sky?
Curious Kids Every Day: A Daily Educational Podcast
This episode of Curious Kids Every Day explores the science behind how clouds stay suspended in the sky, explaining that tiny water droplets
Key takeaways
- Clouds are made of microscopic water droplets or ice crystals that fall extremely slowly due to their size.
- Air resistance significantly slows the descent of tiny cloud particles, allowing them to remain suspended.
Main topics
- Composition of clouds
- Air resistance and particle size
Notable quotes
A typical cloud droplet might be only about 0.02 millimeters across—smaller than a human hair.
Conclusion
Clouds stay up in the sky because their microscopic water droplets and ice
Transcript preview
Speaker 3 (0:00) How do clouds stay up in the sky? Hi! Welcome to Curious Kids Everyday. I'm Josh. How are you doing today? It's so good to hear from you. Hey, can I tell you about one of my very favorite things to do? I love just staring up at the sky and watching the clouds. You know, it's really easy to take clouds for granted because we see them almost every day. But if you really think about it, clouds are incredible. The sky looks like a beautiful painting. And every single cloud you've ever seen is unique. But have you ever wondered, how do clouds stay up in the sky? Rain comes from the clouds, so clouds must be made of water, and water definitely doesn't usually stay up in the air, right? If I dump a glass of water outside, it's going to fall straight to the ground. So why do clouds stay in the sky? How do clouds do that? Speaker 3 (1:21) I was thinking about this today because I got a question from a kid in the Curious Kids Club named Carson. Carson was curious. Hey Speaker 1 (1:28) Josh, my name is Carson and I'm wondering how clouds stay up in the sky. Speaker 3 (1:43) Okay, first we need to figure out what is actually inside a cloud. Have you ever wondered that? If you could somehow reach up and grab a handful of cloud, what would you get? It's clearly got something to do with water, right? Well, yes, clouds are made of tiny drops of liquid water. And depending on how cold it is, maybe even tiny pieces of ice. But here's the thing. Here's what's different. Those little drops of water and the pieces of ice, they are so small that they behave a little differently than what we might be used to. Speaker 3 (2:28) See, a typical cloud droplet might be only about 0.02 millimeters across, which means you could line up a whole bunch of them across the width of just one human hair. Yeah, it's smaller than a human hair. And actually, human hair is a really good example because, think about it, what happens if you have a little piece of hair in your hand and you let it go? Does it fall straight to the floor? Speaker 3 (3:00) No, it kind of floats on its way down doesn't it? In fact if the air or the wind is just right It might not hit the floor