Chemtrails or contrails?

An enduring aviation conspiracy theory is the idea of chemtrails, the belief that jet airliners are spraying mysterious chemicals as they fly over the country.  The motive of these sprayers varies according to different websites and conspiracy purveyors.  Some claim that the chemtrails have to do with global warming.  Others claim that it is a sinister New World Order plot to kill millions of people.

“Chemtrails” are actually composed of water vapor.  More accurately they are known as contrails, or condensation trails.  These trails occur when the cold air at high altitudes is meets the warm exhaust of an aircraft’s engine.  The fuel burned by the engine contains water.  As the water in the exhaust cools, it forms ice crystals or water droplets, forming a cloud.  This is similar to how fog comes from a car’s exhaust on a cold day.  Keep in mind that even if the temperature is hot on the ground, it is very cold at high altitudes where jets fly.  There are many pictures of WWII bombers with piston engines leaving contrails in the sky.  These pictures predate jet airliners and global warming theory by decades.

Read the rest of this article on Examiner.com:

http://www.examiner.com/aviation-in-national/contrails-or-chemtrails

Tags: airplane, aviation, chemical, chemical spraying, chemtrail, conspiracy, flying