On Aug 3, 3:17 pm, "Szczepan Bialek" wrote:
"Weatherlawyer" glegroups.com...



On Aug 2, 8:36 am, "Szczepan Bialek" wrote:
"dave" nospam wrote
...

Sorry if I sound like a buffoon to you meteorologists. I'm simply a
layman that knows nothing about this but wants to learn. I did some
searching and it is said that warm rising air keeps clouds up. Is it
possible the static charge in the clouds could also have an effect?

Of course yes. " Thus charged water clusters can function as electron
reservoirs for chemical reactions involving electron transfer to or from
the
reacting species"
See:http://www.watercluster.com/

The stronger charged water clusters migrate higher. So the thunderstorm
clouds are very high.
S*

It is a mystery why the clouds of vapour don't condense though. It is
as if some magical force is holding them apart. At ground level in
some forms of mist you can actually see the droplets in suspension.

It doesn't make sense that they don't fall to earth.

But in lenticular clouds for example, we know that a strong wind is
blowing where they develop. This wind loses moisture owing to the
physics of water and latent heat etc. And this stream carries as much
moisture away as it deposits.

It seems to me that your answer for the question: " Is it possible the
static charge in the clouds could also have an effect?" is yes. Am I right?

I remember reading an article about electrical charge dispersal in the
open atmosphere.ruling out that it can build up in clouds to the
extent that it causes lightning.

Which indicates that the charge must be developed instantaneously or
that the source must be related to another as yet unrecorded or
unassociated phenomenon.

If there was a charge involved in holding up a cloud, it would be
measurable in all cloud, at all times.

It is difficult to understand how droplets can just hang in the sky
though. There is a discussion on the behaviour of condensation in
conditions of 100% humidity in the FAQ for the uk.sci.weather
newsgroup.

(Not that that sort of question ever gets asked on that newsgroup. It
isn't actually a FAQ so much as an encyclopoedia of meteorology. The
previous owner or host for it aught to consider publishing it or
selling a CD with it on, IMO. I think it would be a best seller.)