Every time we look at the sky we can see certain silhouettes that we call clouds, but, you have asked how do they form and if all the clouds are the same?
Clouds, like fog, are formed by drops of water or ice crystals. Sometimes they contain both. In fact, the fog is actually a cloud that floats on the ground.
Almost all clouds are formed when the rising air cools and part of its moisture condenses. This usually occurs when the wind rises up the side of a mountain or when the air currents rise, on a hot, humid day.
The more the air rises, the less pressure it has and the more it can expand. For example:
If we inflate a tire with a pump we will see what happens to the air when it changes its pressure. After pumping for a while, we will notice that each time we have to use more force, that is because we have already pumped a large amount of additional air into the tire. If we touch the barrel of the pump we will notice that it is hot, since air has been compressed in the pump and that is why it is hot; but if we let air escape through the valve, it will seem cold because when it leaves the tire, the expansion cools it down.
The same happens with the air of the field, when it descends, it is compressed and heated, but when it rises it expands and cools, but the cold air can not contain as much water vapor as hot air. If the temperature drops so much that the air can no longer carry its charge of water vapor, part of that vapor condenses into droplets, then the cloud is born.
The clouds are formed by the cooling of the air, this causes the condensation of water vapor in the form of drops or visible ice particles. The particles are so small that they are held in the air by slight vertical currents, the differences between cloud formations are due, in part, to the different condensation temperatures, when they occur at a temperature lower than that of freezing, the clouds are usually formed by ice crystals, however, those that form in hotter air usually contain drops of water.
The clouds that are created in air, at rest, tend to appear in layers or strata, while those formed between winds or airs with strong vertical currents present a great vertical development.
Meteorologists divide the clouds into three levels: low, intermediate and high.
The levels are like the different floors of a skyscraper: The "first floor" reaches 1,950 meters, the "second floor" from 1,950 to 6,000 meters, the "third floor" from 6,000 to 12,000 meters. Although there are no two identical clouds, they can be grouped by class.
Types of clouds
Stratum. It looks like an extended savannah. The bottom of the cloud is gray, because it is in the shadow. But the upper part, seen from an airplane, looks like a sea of white foam.
Stratus clouds are formed on the "first floor".
Altoestrato. It is formed on the "second floor". They form due to the humidity that exists at a height of five to six kilometers of height, and can cause precipitations in the form of rain and drizzle.
Cirro. Those clouds are the white shreds that can be seen at high altitudes, on clear days. They are formed by ice particles and are too faint to project shade.
Of them, neither rain nor snow fall because they contain very little water. They are formed on the "third floor".
Cumulus. It is a fluffy and rounded cloud, because of thick, it projects a dark shadow and that kind of cloud usually forms at the end of the afternoon. Large cumulus clouds are formed on the "first floor" of the sky.
Altocumulus. This is a more tenuous cloud, which is formed on the "second floor" and associated in good weather.
Cirroestrato. It is a combined cloud that forms on the "third floor". It has the appearance of a smooth sheet, which gives the sky a milky color, but is so thin that it almost dulls the light of the Sun or the Moon.
Cirrocumulus. It is a combined cloud that assumes the form of small white balls or flakes, which resemble the scales of a fish.
Nimbus. Means "rain cloud". With this type of cloud you have to be very careful, since it is what gives us the electrical storms, which come with lightning, thunder, lightning and intense rainfall.
Nimbostratus. It is called stormy stratum, it is a dark gray cloud, which usually does not always appear at the same height.
Cúmulonimbo. It is the stormy cluster, it is a cloud of vertical development that grows to reach between ten and twelve kilometers in height, in its upper part when it reaches its maximum development the anvil is formed, the cloud meets the The limit of the troposphere, the tropopause and when it can not continue climbing expands horizontally, acquiring the appearance of an anvil.
To appear you need two ingredients, cold air in height and a mass of warm air that ate to rise, from a certain altitude the water vapor that it contains will begin to condense and continue to rise until it continues to find cold air, until it has arrived its moment will be scattered in intense rainfall.
The clouds help us to protect ourselves from the solar rays of our star, Sun. Likewise, it controls the temperature and gives us shade.
Those tiny particles of water and ice that are in the sky are of utmost importance to our planet, enjoy a refreshing afternoon admiring its beauty.