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Why do some planes have contrails and others don t?
Contrails form when jet exhaust emits water vapor that condenses and freezes. Contrails don’t form for every airplane. The atmosphere where the plane is flying needs to have low vapor pressure and low temperature.
Why do some planes have contrails?
Jets leave white trails, or contrails, in their wakes for the same reason you can sometimes see your breath. The hot, humid exhaust from jet engines mixes with the atmosphere, which at high altitude is of much lower vapor pressure and temperature than the exhaust gas.
What kind of plane makes contrails?
Contrails would not form behind aircraft engines without the water vapor by-product present in exhaust. Figure 1. Contrails forming behind the engines of a Lufthansa Airbus A310-330 cruising at an altitude of 35,100 ft (10.7 km) as seen from research aircraft.
Do fighter jets create contrails?
Do private jets leave contrails?
Contrails are the visible reminder that on a daily basis numerous commercial and private flights cross the skies across the world. But some aircraft leave these white trails behind them and others do not, even when seemingly in the same general part of the sky.
Why do jets fly so high?
Air resistance and fuel efficiency One of the main reasons commercial airplanes fly so high is air resistance. You see, the higher you go above the ground, the thinner the atmosphere becomes, and therefore, the less resistance there is on the movement of the plane.
How are the Contrails formed in an airplane?
Contrails are a type of ice cloud, formed by aircraft as water vapor condenses around small dust particles, which provide the vapor with sufficient energy to freeze. The water vapor is already in the air surrounding the aircraft while the dust, or condensation nuclei, is comprised primarily of soot particles produced during the combustion process.
Where does the water in contrails come from?
Contrails are a type of cirrus clouds consisting of predominantly ice particles. A major portion of the water to form these particles comes from the atmosphere itself, and a small portion is from the engine exhaust. The engine exhaust contains products of combustion of aviation fuel that are like the exhaust composition of automobile exhaust.
How long do contrails last on an airplane?
When aircraft do leave contrails behind, some contrails last hours and other contrails last mere seconds or minutes . Why do some airplanes leave contrails and some don’t?
How are contrails a type of ice cloud?
What are contrails? Contrails are a type of ice cloud, formed by aircraft as water vapor condenses around small dust particles, which provide the vapor with sufficient energy to freeze.