TED-Ed: How did clouds get their names? - Richard Hamblyn

In 1802, Luke Howard, a pharmacist with a passion for meteorology, presented a lecture that revolutionized the understanding of clouds. He classified clouds into three main types: cirrus, cumulus, and stratus, and introduced intermediate types to account for their changing nature. This classification had a profound impact, inspiring poets like Goethe and Shelley, and artists like Constable. Howard's work made clouds easier to study as indicators of atmospheric processes, revealing that they follow the same physical laws as other Earthly phenomena. His contributions laid the foundation for nephology, the study of clouds.

What was Luke Howard's profession by training?

• Meteorologist

• Pharmacist

• Painter

• Poet

Which of the following is NOT one of the three main cloud types identified by Luke Howard?

• Cirrus

• Cumulus

• Nimbus

• Stratus

What did Luke Howard introduce to account for the changing nature of clouds?

• A new type of cloud

• A series of intermediate and compound types

• A method to capture clouds

• A device to measure cloud height

Which poet wrote a series of poems in praise of Howard's clouds?

• J.W. von Goethe

• William Wordsworth

• John Keats

• Percy Shelley

What did John Constable do in response to Howard's cloud classification?

• Wrote a book

• Painted clouds

• Invented a new cloud type

• Held a public lecture

What is the primary reason clouds do not float but fall slowly?

• They are lighter than air

• They are pushed by the wind

• They are held by magnetic forces

• They are subject to gravity

What is nephology?

• The study of stars

• The study of rain

• The study of clouds

• The study of wind