Beyond Boltzmann: The Potential Energy Distribution of Objects in the Atmosphere

Estimates of the number and potential energy of molecules, aerosols, cloud droplets, insects, birds, planes and satellites in the atmosphere yield a distribution which is for potential energies below 10^2 kBT described by the Boltzmann distribution, but for the range from 10^2 kBT to 10^33 kBT by a power law with an exponent of approximately -1. An explanation for this surprising behavior is not found.