The other day I was with my mother-in-law and we noticed there were many of those white streams in the sky left behind by jet airplanes. She told me that they contain chemicals and that I should try to limit having the kids outside on days when the sky is filled with them. Does anyone know about this? I did a web search and found some scary stuff. Thanks!
BTW - what is a "conspiracy theorist" ?
Aliens.
They have been orbiting above the atmosphere for thousands of years. The "trails" that you see are actually very small space ships. They collect data - waiting for the time when the earth has sufficient nitrogen and heliogasfumigates to support their kind of life.
Build a bunker. Build a very large bunker.
ETA - oh, and welcome to Mamapedia. Excellent first question! :)
They're called contrails (short for condensation trails) unless you're a conspiracy theorist, in which case, they're likely to be called chemtrails. They are caused by the water vapor and carbon dioxide from the jet engines. You don't need to shelter your kids from them (in my opinion), but I'm sure there are other people who feel differently.
Water vapor.
A conspiracy theorist is someone who believes the world is after them. The government spys on them, tin foil hat people....someone who would believe that water vapor is controlling their mind.
It's condensation, water vapor. The water is pretty much freezing because of the higher altitude.
My grandpa told me that when I was a kid. I Googled it and it turns out he was right! It's a called a contrail.
EDIT: Grandpa didn't say nothing about a chemtrail! That sounds scary!
OMG, they're contrails and it's ice. People grow up, it's not a conspiracy, it's a natural occurrence.
For those who think that the white lines are chemicals being sprayed... At the altitude that the planes are flying, even if they were spraying incredibly large quantities of highly concentrated vaporized chemcials (and they're not), by the time any of it reached the ground, it would be incredibly diluted. And I'm assuming none of it changes phase (condenses due to temperature or pressure change), which, given the high altitude, is highly unlikely. Ever see planes spray crops? They have to fly pretty low to the ground to be effective.... Now, if planes start flying low over my house and I feel a mist afterwards...then I'd be a more than a little concerned...
The stuff behind the plane is just water vapor. In simplest terms, the planes are making clouds that are made of water droplets and some of the exhaust from the jet. Not much different than the clouds that naturally form in a regular smoggy atmosphere. It's the exact process that happens to your breath on a cold day. How long it lingers depends on the humidity of the air around the exhalation. Jet or human.
http://lsned.com/facts/jet-plane-trails/
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.
A conspiracy theorist is a person who develops conspiracy theories.
The trails that go away are contrails from airplanes. The ones that don't are chemtrails. You'll see them in the sky for many, many hours after they've 'sprayed' us. One explanation (among a few) is that the govt. is spraying the skies to combat global warming. You can google it; certainly some very interesting theories out there, that's for sure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemtrail_conspiracy_theory
Added: LOL, some of you trust the govt. too much! You actually think that the lines that haven't dissipated HOURS later are contrails from commercial jets? Let me tell ya, here in So Cal it can be a cloudless warm day in the morning. Then a few hours later there are lines all across the sky, back and forth. They don't dissipate, they start spreading out and they blanket the sky. Hours later, they've formed a sort of cloud cover. Farmers across the U.S. have started noticing more and more, as well, and have found higher levels of aluminum in their crop soil. But if you think that our govt. -- or any other for that matter -- isn't above something underhanded that they don't want the general public to understand -- I've got a bridge to nowhere to sell you! LMAO!
I just have to laugh and some of the answers. I work for an airline and it is a not a conspiracy (LOL). This just made my week.
They're called contrails. Contrails are long thin artificial clouds that sometimes form behind aircraft. Their formation is most often triggered by the water vapour in the exhaust of aircraft engines, but can also be triggered by the changes in pressure in wingtip vortices or the entire wing surface.
As for conspiracy theorists? They're people who look for conspiracies in everything. City blackout? Gotta be the government/terrorists/aliens. Lady Gaga's popular? Illuminati mind control! The sky is blue? That's because the government's putting something in our water to make it see it like that.
Okay, those are outlandish examples, only, not really. Because some of them get REALLY bad.
Technically, I think, clouds. The engines are HOT and the air up there is COLD so you get condensation or clouds. :)
They are called contrails and they are condensation.
I think it's called contrail. I don't know about the hazards of being around outside when a lot of contrail is out though.
Usually it is so windy in Texas that I am surprised when I see a long contrail that hasn't fizzled out up in the sky.
