What is FOG?
Fog is actually a cloud, but it is a low cloud that lies close to the ground or sea. It is formed when warm currents of air hit against cold air resting above land or water. What happens is that the sudden cooling causes moisture in the warmer air to condense, or form tiny droplets of water. Fog occurs only when the air is coole
A fog is a cloud in contact with the ground. There is no basic difference between a fog and a cloud floating high in the atmosphere. When a cloud is near or on the surface, of the earth or sea, it is simply called fog. The commonest fogs are those seen at night and in the early morning over the lowlands and small bodies of water. They usually are caused by a cold current of air from above striking down upon the warmer surface of the land or water. In the autumn they are very common, because the air is cooling faster day by day than the land or the water. On still nights after dark, thin layers of fog often form close to the ground in low places. As the earth cools at night, the lower air gets cooler. Where this cooler air meets the moist warmer air just above, fog forms. As a general rule, city fogs are much thicker than country fogs.
So, I have done some research and here is what I have found. Air is made up of gasses and contains a certain amount of invisible water vapour (water droplets so small that we can’t see them). Fog is created when the air becomes cool (like on a wintry morning) and cannot hold as much water vapour , the air it becomes supersaturated, that means the invisible water vapour turns into bigger water droplets, and then turns into fog. For more information, have a look at the BBC Weather Centre on Fog, the URL is http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/understanding/fog.shtml or have a look at Weatherwize Kids the full URL is http://www.weatherwizkids.com/cloud.htm They have some wonderful information on clouds too! For some spectacular photos of fog from all over the world, go to http://www.chitambo.com/clouds/cloudshtml/fog.
by Mya Kagan (whyzz writer) >> more about the author If being in fog makes you feel like you’re walking on a cloud, then you’re not very far off — the only difference between fog and a cloud is that fog touches the ground! Other than that, they’re essentially made up of and caused by the same thing! Just like clouds, fog happens when the air becomes really wet and is made up of a bunch of tiny droplets of water holding onto each other, like they’re holding hands! When air is warm, it can hold more moisture (wetness) before it becomes so wet that fog is created… that’s why fog usually happens when the air temperature has quickly become cooler! — NEAT!
