• Question: Can you solidify a cloud just enough for it to stay floating in the atmosphere and yet be able to walk on it?

    Asked by darkmatter8 to Mike, Pip, Tianfu, Tim, Tom on 29 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Tim Stephens

      Tim Stephens answered on 29 Jun 2012:


      If you mean freeze a cloud, then no. Frozen cloud is snow and hailstones, and they fall to earth.

    • Photo: Tom Lister

      Tom Lister answered on 29 Jun 2012:


      The higher clouds you see in the sky (e.g. cirrus) are made of ice particles. As Tim says, if they are big bits of ice, they become heavy and fall to the ground. If you had a huge sheet of ice about 10 cm thick (which I am guessing would be strong enough to hold your weight) then I think it could be held up by current of warm air, or would at least fall slowly enough that you could walk around on it for a while.

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