A homogenitus, anthropogenic or artificial cloud is a cloud induced by human activity. Although most clouds covering the sky have a purely natural origin, since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the use of fossil fuels and water vapor and other gases emitted by nuclear, thermal and geothermal power plants yield significant alterations of the local weather conditions. These new atmospheric conditions can thus enhance cloud formation.[1]
Various methods have been proposed for creating and utilizing this weather phenomenon. Experiments have also been carried out for various studies. For example, Russian scientists have been studying artificial clouds for more than 50 years.[2] But by far the greatest number of anthropogenic clouds are airplane contrails (condensation trails) and rocket trails.[3][4]
- ^ Describing Wilson's cloud chamber. Galison, Peter Louis; Assmus, Alexi (1989). "Chapter 8: Artificial clouds, real particles". In Gooding, David; Pinch, Trevor; Schaffer, Simon (eds.). The Uses of Experiment: Studies in the natural sciences. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. pp. 225–273. ISBN 978-0-521-33185-2.
- ^ Russian scientists create artificial cloud August 28, 2010 NECN/CNN
- ^ Downing, L. L. (2013). "Chapter XIII Artificial Clouds". Meteorology of Clouds. Bloomington, Indiana: AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-4918-0432-2.
- ^ Marshall, John; Plumb, R. Alan (1965). Atmosphere, Ocean and Climate Dynamics: An Introductory Text. Burlington, Vermont: Elsevier. pp. 100–101. ISBN 978-0-08-095445-5.