It is commonly called alumina, and may also be called aloxide, aloxite, or alundum depending on particular forms or applications. It commonly occurs in its crystalline polymorphic phase Î±-Al 2 O 3, in which it composes the mineral corundum, varieties of which form the precious gemstones ruby and sapphire.
rain cloud. (meteorology). Any cloud from which rain falls; a popular term having no technical denotation. 1  Facebook. 2  Twitter.
Cumuliform cloudscape over Swifts Creek, Australia. In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol comprising a visible mass of minute liquid droplets or frozen crystals, both of which are made of water or various chemicals. The droplets or particles are suspended in the atmosphere above the surface of a planetary body. On Earth, clouds are formed by the saturation of air in the homosphere (which includes the troposphere, stratosphere, and mesosphere). The air may be cooled to its dew point by a variety of atmospheric processes or it may gain moisture (usually in the form of water vapor) from an adjacent source. Nephology is the science of clouds which is undertaken in the cloud physics branch of meteorology.