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Why do plane wings leave trails?
During very specific weather conditions you may see vapor trails form at the rear of the wingtips of jet aircraft on takeoff or landing. This phenomenon occurs due to a decrease in pressure and temperature as the wing generates lift.
Why do clouds form over wings?
Lift comes about because the air pressure is low above the wing, and a drop in air pressure (and temperature) tends to cause invisible water vapor to condense into the visible water droplets we see as clouds. …
Why do plane wings smoke?
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. The soot provides condensation sites for the water vapor.
Why do Jets leave trails in the air?
The trails persist because water vapor from the jet engines contact saturated and very cold air. On the days (and in the areas of the atmosphere) where these conditions don’t exist, trails won’t persist.
What causes the tips of the wings to leave the plane?
Reduced pressure causes reduced temperature and if ambient humidity is high enough the result is the condensation you observe. As other answers state, the vapor trail from the edge of the wing (or from other sections of the wing in various configurations) is the most visible effect of the wingtip vortex, a phenomenon in aerodynamics of airfoils.
Why do planes make long white vapor trails?
It’s hilarious how so many ignore the billions of sources of pollution at ground level and focus on airplanes simply because they “think” the long, white, long-lasting trails are a visual representation of how much pollution the plane is creating…which just isn’t true.
Why are there smoke trails on the back of planes?
First of all, those long trails you see sometimes coming off the back of planes, or from their wings, isn’t smoke at all. It’s more like what you see when you exhale on a cold winter day and see your breath.