Q: Why do jets leave a white trail behind them in the sky?
Q: Why do jets leave a white trail behind them in the sky?
A: That trail is actually a man-made cloud.
At high altitudes where barometric pressure and temperature are low, the air can’t hold all of the water that it can at lower altitudes, where pressure is higher and so are temperatures.
So because the air can’t hold the water, it condenses, forming a cloud. But in order for that to happen, the water must have dust particles around to condense on, and it helps if the air is agitated a bit.
At the heights where jets fly, there are very few dust particles, but the jets themselves spew out fuel particles and shake the air, creating the ideal conditions to form a cloud, which in this case, is a long stripe in the plane’s wake.
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Source: Douglas B. Smith
