Nuage

**Nuage**

In meteorology, a *nuage* (French for "cloud") refers to a visible mass of condensed water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere. Clouds form when water vapor cools and condenses around microscopic particles such as dust, salt, or pollen. They play a crucial role in the Earth's water cycle, influencing weather patterns, climate, and precipitation.

Clouds are classified into various types based on their altitude, appearance, and composition. The International Cloud Atlas, maintained by the World Meteorological Organization, defines ten primary cloud genera, each subdivided into further categories. For example, cumulus clouds are puffy and indicate fair weather, while stratus clouds form flat, featureless layers often associated with drizzle or light rain.

Beyond their meteorological significance, clouds have inspired art, literature, and mythology across cultures. In folklore, they are sometimes personified as celestial beings or symbols of divine intervention. Scientifically, studying clouds helps researchers understand atmospheric processes, including radiation balance and climate change.

In everyday language, *nuage* can also refer to a collection of data points, such as in cloud computing—a distributed computing paradigm where data is stored and processed across multiple servers. This technology enables scalable storage and computational resources for applications ranging from data analytics to machine learning.