clouds

[Cy]

I'll tell you all now just in case I have more strange questions that I'm an author and am in the process of designing my own unique little world. What I need in this world of mine is for clouds to be a lot lower to the ground. I'm wondering if there is anything that would cause this to happen, or if there would be any side effects. Thanks!

[aguy2]

I'll tell you all now just in case I have more strange questions that I'm an author and am in the process of designing my own unique little world. What I need in this world of mine is for clouds to be a lot lower to the ground. I'm wondering if there is anything that would cause this to happen, or if there would be any side effects. Thanks!

 

Side effects like lots of fog?

 

aguy2

[insane_alien]

well fog is just a low cloud basically.

[Cy]

ya but fog doesn't look like the really beautiful clouds you'd see high in the sky. And that's probably a little too low. I'm talking skyscraper height. I need to be able to show building tops standing up into enormous cloud formations. but I don't want to make the buildings that incredibly tall. so I figured I'd just lower the clouds.

[herpguy]

Maybe they could be heavy clouds slowly descending until they get warm enough to expand again and become clouds higher up, but they will be invisible when they are high because they will be spread apart. It could be a cycle. If rain starts because they are to dense, there could be a layer of air moving at extremely fast speeds so the rain will never reach the ground, and no one will know.

[Airmid]

Herpguy is thinking along the line of temperature and pressure, and so am I. If I remember right, clouds are at the current height because that layer has the right temperature and air pressure: cold enough to condensate water vapour and enough air pressure to stop sublimation. Correct me if I'm wrong folks!

 

If this is right, there should be several options:

- a slightly smaller or lighter world: this would give a thinner layer of atmosphere, so the required air pressure is reached closer to the ground

- a slightly colder world, so the required temperature is reached closer to the ground

- what herpguy says

 

Airmid.

[sunspot]

I used to go hiking in the mountains of NH, especially in the presidential range and Mt Washington. Mt Washington, especially was almost always in the clouds like 330 days a years. One could hike from the base and see the clouds at 4000 ft and hike into them. Meet the clouds in the air. Maybe a mostly mountainous world with plateaus for farming. This creates the low pressure and temperature needed.