How clouds can contain millions of tons of water and not fall

When the moist air rises, it expands and cools. At a certain height it becomes so cold that Φ in it becomes super-saturated and condenses to cloud. Clouds consist of innumerable minute _L.H₂O droplets. Condensation occurs at the same height for all cloud bubbles and plumes. That is why one often sees towering flat-bottomed clouds over calm oceans on sunny days (Fig.005). The bottoms are all at the same height.

Condensation releases LQ into the air between the droplets. This LQ becomes SQ that keeps the air warm and light-weight so that it bouys the cloud droplets up. Though the cloud may contain thousands of tons of water- it floats rather than falling down. The SQ that prevents the cloud from falling was initially solar heat added to sea water. It was then converted into LQ in Φ that rose up into the sky and condensed to droplet _L.H₂O there. The _L.H₂O was pumped up from sea to sky invisibly, highly efficiently, with no noise or pollution.

At a given temperature, moist air contains much most heat than dry air

Table 2 was computed with the Stueve algorithm. It shows, for instance, that if dry air is heated from 10 to 30°C at 1 bar, its enthalpy (Hq dryw) increases from 10.2 to 30.6 kJ per kg of dry air. That is an increase of 20.4 kJ/kg. Its density, ρ, falls from 1.24 to 1.16 kg/ m³. Cold, dry air is heavy.

If the T and P of air remain constant at 30°C, 1 bar, while its Φ is raised from of 0 (dry) to 24.4 g/ kg dry air (saturated), its enthalpy rises from 30.6 to 94.2 kJ/kg, its ρ falls from 1.16kg/m³ to 1.14 kg/m³. The enthalpy of air increases more as its Φ is raised from 0 to saturation at constant T than when it is heated from 10 to 30°C. Warm, moist air is light-weight.

Table 2 shows that if air T is held constant while its P is increased, it becomes saturated at lower Φ values. If P is raised, or T lowered, in saturated air, then _L.H₂O condenses out in it, first as cloud, then as rain,.

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