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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/aero-condensation-nuclei

What role can tiny dust, salt, or soot particles play in clouds?

They can act as condensation nuclei where water collects.

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  1. They give water surfaces to collect on ✔
  2. They heat every cloud
  3. They remove all humidity

Why: Water needs tiny surfaces on which to condense. Small airborne particles can become the starting points for cloud droplets.

Huh, didn't know that: Sea salt is one natural source of condensation nuclei.

The dad joke
Why did the water vapor sit by the dust speck? It needed a place to settle!
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References

Answer: They give water surfaces to collect on. Water needs tiny surfaces on which to condense. Small airborne particles can become the starting points for cloud droplets.

  1. NOAA, How Clouds Form www.noaa.gov/jetstream/clouds/how-clouds-form
    water vapor will condense onto the cloud condensation nuclei, resulting in the formation of a cloud droplet.
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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