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If a cloud is a kilometer long and a kilometer tall and weighs about as much as 100 elephants, why it does not fall to the ground under the influence of gravity?

Qmechanic
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J.Doe
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1 Answers1

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A cloud is not one single aggregated mass, but a vast collection of tiny droplets (less than 100 micron). Each droplet falls individually under the influence of gravity, but their terminal velocity is much smaller than turbulent fluctuation velocities prevalent in clouds. To overcome this and reach the ground as rain, those droplets have to grow to a size much larger than ~ 200 micron.

Deep
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