为什么会下雨WhyDoesItRain


为什么会下雨WhyDoesItRain

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又到梅雨季节,最近天天下雨,天气已经很久没有放晴了,那么为什么会下雨呢?雨水是如何形成的呢?
Plants need it to grow, animals need it to survive, and the human body needs it to stay hydrated and keep functioning.
植物靠它生长,动物赖以生存,人体需要它来保持水分 , 维持机体正常运作 。
Water is an essential building block to life and it comes to us from above.
水是生命的基本组成部分,它从天而降 。
Rainwater fills streams, rivers, and lakes.
雨水注满了小溪、河流和湖泊 。
It carries with it the potential for life to flourish.
承载着让生命蓬勃发展的潜力 。
It can turn an arid desert in to an oasis; convert a stream to white water rapids in the monsoon season, and breathe life into the harshest places on earth.
它能把干旱的沙漠变成绿洲;在雨季把浅溪变成急流,给地球上最严酷的环境带来生命 。
So how do clouds form to keep giving us the essential H2O we need?
那么,云是如何形成并持续提供我们所需的水的呢?
That's what we'll find out today, in this episode of The Infographics Show: Why Does It Rain?
这是我们在今天的“信息图表秀”要研究的:为什么会下雨?
Clouds are possibly the most interesting and beautiful of all weather phenomena.
云可能是我们见到的最有趣、最美丽的天气现象了 。
They form in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, but are all made of the same thing. . . water.
它们大小不一,形态各异 , 但都由水而来 。
Though we may not notice it, almost all the air around us is moist because it contains water in the form of vapor.
虽然我们可能注意不到 , 我们周边的空气几乎都是潮湿的 , 因为空气里有水分并以水蒸气的形式存在着 。
You can't see the water vapor, because it's a gas, but it is still there.
由于水蒸气是气态的,所以我们看不到它,但它依然真实存在 。
Water can be either solid as ice, liquid as water, or gas, which is a vapor.
水能以固态存在 , 比如冰;能以液态存在 , 比如水;或以气态存在 , 那就是水蒸气 。
Vapor has no smell and it's invisible.
水蒸气无色无味 。
But you can feel it.
但我们仍然能感觉到它 。
Imagine a hot and sticky day in summer, or a cold foggy day in winter.
试想炎炎夏日里粘粘的空气,亦或是寒冬里的冷气。
Those sensations are water vapor.
我们感觉到的这些都是水蒸气 。
If you put steam or vapor under the microscope, you would see millions of tiny water droplets floating in the air.
如果在显微镜下观察水蒸气 , 我们能看到数以百万计的小水滴漂浮在空气里 。
This is the same process that forms clouds - millions of tiny water droplets condensing out of the air to form liquid water.
这和云彩的形成过程相同-空气中数以百万计的水滴遇冷凝结成液态水 。
But why does water condense out of air and become visible as a cloud?
那为什么水能从空气中凝结而成为可见的云呢?
Warm air holds water vapor better than cool air, so when warm air starts to cool, it can no longer hold as much of the vapor.
暖空气中的水蒸气比冷空气中的更多,所以当暖空气的温度降低时,就存不住那么多的水蒸气了 。
The extra water vapor has to go somewhere.
多余的水分不得不去到别处 。
It condenses out as water.
所以就凝结成了水 。
To see this in action, go outside and stare up at a cloud.
要想看到这个变化,就要去外边盯住一朵云观察 。