Jack,
It seems to me that aircraft exhaust trails must go through a liquid phase
before freezing. As the exhaust plume exits the engine, it is at a
temperature of several hundred degrees C. Even though mixing with the
environmental air is very rapid, the temperature at which condensation
occurs, at normal aircraft operating levels up to the tropopause, will
always be above -40C, and the condensation product will always be water.
Depending on the environmental conditions, the rapid mixing in the plume
will often result in equally rapid freezing of the droplets as their
temperature falls to -40C and below, at which point virtually no liquid
droplets would exist. For a more thorough treatment see Clouds of the World
by Richard Scorer, ch11.
So, to answer your query, the term condensation trail is indeed correct.
--
Bernard Burton
Wokingham, Berkshire, UK.


Satellite images at:
www.btinternet.com/~wokingham.weather/wwp.html
"Jack Harrison" wrote in message
...
A couple of definitions from eg
http://nsidc.org/arcticmet/glossary/condensation.html
(other websites confirm the definitions)

CONDENSATION
The physical process by which a vapor becomes a liquid or solid; the
opposite to evaporation.
In meteorological usage, this term is applied only to transformation from
vapor to liquid; any process in which a solid forms directly from its
vapor
is termed SUBLIMATION, as is the REVERSE process. (my capitals)

So are we correct in calling them condensation trails?
(As a four to five year old during WW2, we used to call them vapour
trails -
seemingly no less accurate).
Condensation nuclei (from the engine exhausts) are of course necessary for
the water vapour to be able to sublimate into ice cloud, so would it be
totally wrong to call them "smoke induced" trails?

Jack