Oxford University Press, Oxford, NewYork, 2008, 170 pp. - ISBN
978–0–19–923653–4
The atmosphere consists of molecules in motion, yet it is often hard to find any mention of the fact in meteorological texts. This absence is also true of substantial areas of physics and chemistry which have evolved to provide quantitative descriptions of the behaviour of atoms and molecules in the gas phase: in particular, non-equilibrium statistical mechanics and molecular dynamics have had less overlap with the theory and observation of turbulence than perhaps might have been expected. Meteorology of course has had fluid mechanics at front and centre for over a century and has had to face issues in turbulence for over half that time. The purpose of this book is to show that atmospheric turbulence is an emergent property arising from the anisotropic environment of populations of gas molecules, linking molecular dynamics with fluid mechanics through the generation of vorticity.
Contents
Introduction.
Initial Survey of Observations.
Relevant Subjects.
Generalized Scale Invariance.
Temperature Intermittency and Ozone Photodissociation.
Radiative and Chemical Kinetic Implications.
Non-Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics.
Summary, Quo Vadimus? and Quotations.
References. Bibliography. Glossary. Index.
The atmosphere consists of molecules in motion, yet it is often hard to find any mention of the fact in meteorological texts. This absence is also true of substantial areas of physics and chemistry which have evolved to provide quantitative descriptions of the behaviour of atoms and molecules in the gas phase: in particular, non-equilibrium statistical mechanics and molecular dynamics have had less overlap with the theory and observation of turbulence than perhaps might have been expected. Meteorology of course has had fluid mechanics at front and centre for over a century and has had to face issues in turbulence for over half that time. The purpose of this book is to show that atmospheric turbulence is an emergent property arising from the anisotropic environment of populations of gas molecules, linking molecular dynamics with fluid mechanics through the generation of vorticity.
Contents
Introduction.
Initial Survey of Observations.
Relevant Subjects.
Generalized Scale Invariance.
Temperature Intermittency and Ozone Photodissociation.
Radiative and Chemical Kinetic Implications.
Non-Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics.
Summary, Quo Vadimus? and Quotations.
References. Bibliography. Glossary. Index.