Chemtrail conspiracy theory facts for kids

A Boeing 747 leaving a contrail. These contrails are often said to be chemtrails by conspiracy theorists.

A chemtrail is a long, white trail left by an airplane high in the sky. Some people believe these trails are made of chemicals that are sprayed on purpose by the government for secret reasons. This idea is a conspiracy theory.

However, most scientists and people who work with planes say these trails are just a normal type of condensation. They are called contrails, which stands for "condensation trails." Contrails are like tiny clouds that form when hot, moist air from an airplane's engines mixes with the very cold air high up.

What Chemtrails Are Said to Be

People who believe in the chemtrail theory have many ideas about why these chemicals are supposedly sprayed.

Reasons for Chemtrail Spraying

Some people think chemtrails are used to change the weather. They might believe it's to stop global warming or to control storms. Others suggest the chemicals are meant to affect people's health.

More recent ideas claim that companies making genetically-modified (GMO) crops are involved. The chemtrails are supposedly herbicides. These chemicals would only harm regular (organic) crops, leaving the GMO crops safe.

How Chemtrails Are Made

Some believers say that special planes are needed to create chemtrails. These planes are supposedly owned by the government. The chemicals are thought to come from the engine or from special nozzles on the plane's body.

The chemicals are often said to be barium or aluminum oxide. Sometimes, people think it's a mix of both.

Chemtrails vs. Other Spraying

It's important not to confuse chemtrails with other types of spraying from planes. For example, planes are used for firefighting to drop water or chemicals on fires. They also do crop-dusting to spray fields with fertilizers or pesticides. These are done at low altitudes and for clear reasons. Chemtrails, in the theory, are different because they are secret and done at high altitudes.

Why Chemtrail Evidence Is False

Ballast barrels in a prototype Boeing 747. Photographs of flight test barrels are commonly said to show chemtrail planes.

Many photos on the Internet are claimed to show planes that spray chemtrails. These pictures often show barrels inside the plane.

Understanding Ballast Barrels

In reality, these photos show test planes or firefighting planes. The barrels are called ballast barrels. They are used to copy the weight of passengers or cargo during flight tests.

The barrels are filled with water. This water can be moved from one barrel to another. This helps engineers test how the plane flies with different weights and balances. So, these barrels are for testing, not for spraying chemicals.

Images for kids

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  An Airbus A340's engines leaving a water condensation trail (contrail) – miniature clouds formed by the engine exhaust

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  Multiple concurrent contrails. How long they last depends upon the weather, especially the temperature, humidity, and wind speed.

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  Contrails from propeller-driven aircraft engine exhaust, early 1940s

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  Contrail testing being carried out on an Airbus A340 and much older Boeing 707

See also

In Spanish: Teoría de la conspiración de las estelas químicas para niños