In meteorology a cloud (in the scientific language more commonly called cloud) is a hydrometeor composed of minute particles of condensed water and / or ice crystals, suspended in the atmosphere thanks to ascending currents or in a state of buoyancy and usually not in contact with the ground. Precipitation originates from the clouds, one of the phases of the water cycle in the hydrosphere together with the condensation of water vapor. The shape of some types of cloud is similar to a fractal with a typical self similarity. The branch of meteorology that studies clouds and related phenomena is called nephology.
