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Bad Clouds DLESE Reviewed Collection
http://fraser.cc/BadScience/Bad/BadClouds.html
From DLESE Community Collection (DCC)
Comment on this resource
This information is designed to belie the misconception that the capacity of air to hold water vapor is temperature dependent and that air can become saturated with water vapor. The temperature of a cloud droplet or ice crystal will be nearly the same as that of the air, so people imagine that somehow the air was to blame. But, if the other gases of the air were removed, leaving everything else the same, condensation and evaporation would proceed as before and the air was irrelevant to the behavior of the water molecules. It is therefore not correct to assign the behavior of water to an invented holding capacity of the air.
Intended for grade levels:
  • Middle (6-8)
  • High (9-12)
  • General public
Type of resource:
  • Text:
    • Ref. material
Subject:
  • Atmospheric science
Technical requirements:
No specific technical requirements, just a browser required
Cost / Copyright:
No cost
This page is prepared by Alistair B. Fraser who retains copyright to the material (unless otherwise acknowledged). However, as the object of the material is educational - to replace bad science with good science - the material can be freely used for non-commercial purposes, with the proviso that any use of Frasers images must be credited with (c) Alistair B. Fraser, and any quotations must bear attribution.
DLESE Catalog ID: DLESE-000-000-006-652
Educational standards:
  • National Science Education Standards (NSES):
    • 5-8:
      • Unifying concepts and processes:
        • Evidence, models, and explanation
      • B - Physical science:
        • Properties and changes of properties in matter
      • D - Earth and space science:
        • Structure of the earth system
    • 9-12:
      • Unifying concepts and processes:
        • Evidence, models, and explanation
      • B - Physical science:
        • Interactions of energy and matter
      • D - Earth and space science:
        • Energy in the earth system
Related resources:
This resource is referenced by 'Bad Meteorology'
http://www.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/BadMeteorology.html
Resource contact / Creator / Publisher:
Author: Prof Alistair B. Fraser
Pennsylvania State University, Department of Meteorology