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Convection cell
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===Thunderstorms=== [[File:Thunderstorm formation.jpg|thumb|500px|Stages of a thunderstorm's life.]] {{see also|Cloud|Thunderstorm}} Warm air has a lower density than cool air, so warm air rises within cooler air,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/civilengineersp00fryegoog |title=Civil engineers' pocket book: a reference-book for engineers, contractors|author=Albert Irvin Frye|page=[https://archive.org/details/civilengineersp00fryegoog/page/n510 462]|publisher=D. Van Nostrand Company|year=1913|accessdate=2009-08-31}}</ref> similar to [[hot air balloon]]s.<ref>{{cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ssO_19TRQ9AC&dq=Kongming+balloon&pg=PA112 | title = Ancient Chinese Inventions | author = Yikne Deng | publisher = Chinese International Press | isbn=978-7-5085-0837-5 | year=2005 | pages = 112β13 | accessdate = 2009-06-18}}</ref> Clouds form as relatively warmer air carrying moisture rises within cooler air. As the moist air rises, it cools, causing some of the [[water vapor]] in the rising packet of air to [[condensation|condense]].<ref>{{cite web|author=FMI|year=2007|url=http://www.zamg.ac.at/docu/Manual/SatManu/main.htm?/docu/Manual/SatManu/CMs/FgStr/backgr.htm|title=Fog And Stratus β Meteorological Physical Background|publisher=Zentralanstalt fΓΌr Meteorologie und Geodynamik|accessdate=2009-02-07}}</ref> When the moisture condenses, it releases energy known as the [[latent heat]] of vaporisation, which allows the rising packet of air to cool less than its surrounding air,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/stormworldhurric00moon |url-access=registration |title=Storm world: hurricanes, politics, and the battle over global warming|author=Chris C. Mooney|page=[https://archive.org/details/stormworldhurric00moon/page/20 20]|isbn=978-0-15-101287-9|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|year=2007|accessdate=2009-08-31}}</ref> continuing the cloud's ascension. If enough [[Convective available potential energy|instability]] is present in the atmosphere, this process will continue long enough for [[Cumulonimbus|cumulonimbus clouds]] to form, which support lightning and thunder. Generally, thunderstorms require three conditions to form: moisture, an unstable air mass, and a lifting force (heat). All thunderstorms, regardless of type, go through three stages: a 'developing stage', a 'mature stage', and a 'dissipating stage'.<ref name="Extreme Weather">{{cite book |title=Extreme Weather |author=Michael H. Mogil |year=2007 |publisher=Black Dog & Leventhal Publisher |location=New York |isbn=978-1-57912-743-5 |pages=210β211 }}<!--|accessdate=2009-08-08--></ref> The average thunderstorm has a {{convert|24|km|mi|abbr=on}} diameter.<ref name="Folger2011">{{cite book |author=Peter Folger |title=Severe Thunderstorms and Tornadoes in the United States |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PB0U26iYawwC&pg=PA16 |date=10 April 2011 |publisher=DIANE Publishing |isbn=978-1-4379-8754-6| page=16}}</ref> Depending on the conditions present in the atmosphere, these three stages take an average of 30 minutes to go through.<ref name="tsbasics">{{cite web|url=http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/primer/tstorm/tst_basics.html|title=A Severe Weather Primer: Questions and Answers about Thunderstorms|author=National Severe Storms Laboratory|publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]|date=2006-10-15|accessdate=2009-09-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090825000832/http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/primer/tstorm/tst_basics.html|archive-date=2009-08-25|url-status=dead}}</ref>
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