QUICK QUESTION: Why are contrails (the exhaust from jets) formed?

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Ymmy

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Aug 3, 2003
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Are contrails formed for a specific reason or are they simply the emission of a jet's exhaust system?

EDIT: are the condensation made for a specific purpose or are they simply something that comes out of the jet due to its structure. (ie, car exhaust comes out because of the way the car was made, not because it's beneficial to us or serve any reason). So...do contrails serve a reason or are they simply pretty white lines across the sky?
 
Nohr

Nohr

Diamond Member
Jan 6, 2001
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Howstuffworks
The clouds that jets form on certain days are called condensation trails or contrails. Some days, the contrails will form thin lines that cross the entire sky. Other days they will be much shorter, and on some days there will be none at all.

A contrail forms because one of the components of jet engine exhaust is water. Jet fuel is made of carbon and hydrogen (see this Question of the Day for details on fuel, and see How Gas Turbine Engines Work for details on jet engines). When jet fuel burns with oxygen, most of the exhaust consists of CO2 (carbon dioxide) and H2O (water). The water is generally an invisible vapor.

When you exhale, your breath contains a great deal of invisible water vapor as well. You may have noticed that on certain days in the winter, your breath will form a cloud of condensation when you exhale. In the summer, however, you don't see your breath. Cold air can hold a lot less moisture than warm air, so in the winter, when the moisture in your breath hits the cold air, the moisture condenses into a visible cloud.

The same thing happens when a jet engine "exhales." If the temperature, winds and humidity in the upper atmosphere are right, long, white contrails form when the moisture in the exhaust condenses.
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D

Dragnov

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Apr 24, 2001
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One of the emission of jets is water.

If the air has enough moisture in it, and with the addition of more you get contrails.
 
Y

Ymmy

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Aug 3, 2003
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EDIT: are the condensation made for a specific purpose or are they simply something that comes out of the jet due to its structure. (ie, car exhaust comes out because of the way the car was made, not because it's beneficial to us or serve any reason). So...do contrails serve a reason or are they simply pretty white lines across the sky?
 
B

Bootprint

Diamond Member
Jan 11, 2002
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Originally posted by: Ymmy
EDIT: are the condensation made for a specific purpose or are they simply something that comes out of the jet due to its structure. (ie, car exhaust comes out because of the way the car was made, not because it's beneficial to us or serve any reason). So...do contrails serve a reason or are they simply pretty white lines across the sky?
Click to expand...

They don't serve a purpose, well other then cooling the earth.
 
XZeroII

XZeroII

Lifer
Jun 30, 2001
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Originally posted by: Bootprint
Originally posted by: Ymmy
EDIT: are the condensation made for a specific purpose or are they simply something that comes out of the jet due to its structure. (ie, car exhaust comes out because of the way the car was made, not because it's beneficial to us or serve any reason). So...do contrails serve a reason or are they simply pretty white lines across the sky?
Click to expand...

They don't serve a purpose, well other then cooling the earth.
Click to expand...

Actually, it's the opposite. I read a report awhile ago where a group did some research on the day(s) after 9/11. Since there were no planes in the air, they were able to measure the effect contrails have on weather. On the days after 9/11, they found out that the temperature was cooler than it otherwise would have been by a few degrees. From this, they determined that contrails actually warm the earth by a few degrees every day. (note: I read this report awhile ago, so I might have gotten some details mixed up or left out). It was an interesting read, though.
 
Y

Yossarian

Lifer
Dec 26, 2000
18,010
1
81
Originally posted by: Ymmy
EDIT: are the condensation made for a specific purpose or are they simply something that comes out of the jet due to its structure. (ie, car exhaust comes out because of the way the car was made, not because it's beneficial to us or serve any reason). So...do contrails serve a reason or are they simply pretty white lines across the sky?
Click to expand...

well they are a bad thing for combat aircraft since it makes them much easier to spot.
 
C

cavemanmoron

Lifer
Mar 13, 2001
13,664
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Originally posted by: XZeroII
Originally posted by: Bootprint
Originally posted by: Ymmy
EDIT: are the condensation made for a specific purpose or are they simply something that comes out of the jet due to its structure. (ie, car exhaust comes out because of the way the car was made, not because it's beneficial to us or serve any reason). So...do contrails serve a reason or are they simply pretty white lines across the sky?
Click to expand...

They don't serve a purpose, well other then cooling the earth.
Click to expand...

Actually, it's the opposite. I read a report awhile ago where a group did some research on the day(s) after 9/11. Since there were no planes in the air, they were able to measure the effect contrails have on weather. On the days after 9/11, they found out that the temperature was cooler than it otherwise would have been by a few degrees. From this, they determined that contrails actually warm the earth by a few degrees every day. (note: I read this report awhile ago, so I might have gotten some details mixed up or left out). It was an interesting read, though.
Click to expand...

you left a lot out,

http://www.augustachronicle.com/stories/081102/tec_124-3445.shtml


In a nutshell, the condensation trails, known as contrails, keep the temperatures cooler in the day and warmer at night.

 
W

Warthog912

Golden Member
Jun 17, 2001
1,653
0
76
Originally posted by: fredtam
Contrails
And for the tin foil hat people Chemtrails
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Chemtrails... OMG I feel for those pitiful individuals. Could you imagine what thier thoughts are?

"We are moving and largely because of the chemtrails. Our folks live in Mississippi and
they don't seem to be spraying as heavy down that way"

Borderline Stupid, IMO
 
C

C'DaleRider

Guest
Jan 13, 2000
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Originally posted by: cavemanmoron
Originally posted by: XZeroII
Originally posted by: Bootprint
Originally posted by: Ymmy
EDIT: are the condensation made for a specific purpose or are they simply something that comes out of the jet due to its structure. (ie, car exhaust comes out because of the way the car was made, not because it's beneficial to us or serve any reason). So...do contrails serve a reason or are they simply pretty white lines across the sky?
Click to expand...

They don't serve a purpose, well other then cooling the earth.
Click to expand...

Actually, it's the opposite. I read a report awhile ago where a group did some research on the day(s) after 9/11. Since there were no planes in the air, they were able to measure the effect contrails have on weather. On the days after 9/11, they found out that the temperature was cooler than it otherwise would have been by a few degrees. From this, they determined that contrails actually warm the earth by a few degrees every day. (note: I read this report awhile ago, so I might have gotten some details mixed up or left out). It was an interesting read, though.
Click to expand...

you left a lot out,

<a target=new class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://
[L=http://www.augustachronicle.com/stories/081102/tec_124-3445.shtml">http://www.augustachronicle.com/stories/081102/tec_124-3445.shtml</a>]http://www.augustachronicle.com/stories/081102/tec_124-3445.shtml[/L][/L]


In a nutshell, the condensation trails, known as contrails, keep the temperatures cooler in the day and warmer at night.
Click to expand...



You need to fix your bloody link............
http://www.augustachronicle.com/stories/081102/tec_124-3445.shtml
 
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