Rain's Dirty Little Secret

To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: 

Condensation: the process of water molecules glomming together into visible droplets

Condensation nuclei: tiny solid particles that water vapor condenses onto (also called aerosols)

Homogeneous condensation: condensation without any kind of condensation nuclei

Dew point: the temperature below which water vapor starts to condense into droplets

Heterogeneous condensation: condensation that happens with the help of condensation nuclei

Critical Embryo: a cluster of water molecules big enough to easily gain more molecules

Cloud chamber: a cool thing to check out if you want to build a particle detector at home (it involves pumping a bunch of water vapor into pure air; when a particle passes through, it leaves a streak of ionized water molecules that, in super-saturated air, can act as condensation nuclei!)

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