6 – Cloud Microphysics

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on cloud microphysics studies. The chapter discusses the nucleation of cloud droplets from water vapor and the particles in the air. It focuses on the microstructures of warm clouds and the mechanisms by which cloud droplets grow to form raindrops. The chapter deals with ice particles in clouds and describes the various ways in which ice particles form and grow into solid precipitation particles. It discusses the artificial modification of clouds and attempts to deliberately modify precipitation. It also discusses cloud microphysical processes that are thought to be responsible for the electrification of thunderstorms. The chapter ends with the discussion on chemical processes within and around clouds, which play important roles in atmospheric chemistry, including the formation of acid rain.