Fog is like a cloud that hugs the ground! It's made of tiny water droplets, so small you can't even see them individually. These tiny droplets are just like the ones that make up clouds high in the sky.
What Makes the Water Droplets?
Imagine warm air holding lots of water vapor, kind of like a sponge soaking up water. When this warm, wet air gets cold, it can't hold all that water vapor anymore. The water vapor turns back into liquid water, forming those tiny droplets we see as fog. This change from water vapor (a gas) to liquid water is called condensation.
Think of it like this: When you breathe on a cold mirror, you see your breath form tiny droplets—that’s condensation! Fog is basically the same thing, but on a much larger scale.
Different Types of Fog
There are different ways fog can form:
- Radiation fog: This happens when the ground cools down at night, cooling the air near the ground, and causing the water vapor to condense into fog. It often happens on clear nights.
- Advection fog: This forms when warm, moist air moves over a cold surface, like a cold ocean or lake. The air cools as it moves over the colder surface, causing condensation and fog.
Fog vs. Clouds
The key difference between fog and a cloud is location. Fog is a cloud at ground level!
