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Aerosol Science and Technology

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Microphysics of Clouds and

Precipitation
Hans R. Pruppacher , James D. Klett & Pao K. Wang

Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences ,

University of Wisconsin-Madison
Published online: 13 Jun 2007.

To cite this article: Hans R. Pruppacher , James D. Klett & Pao K. Wang (1998)
Microphysics of Clouds and Precipitation, Aerosol Science and Technology, 28:4,
381-382, DOI: 10.1080/02786829808965531
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02786829808965531

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ELSEVIER

BOOK REVIEW

Microphysics of Clouds and Precipitation

Downloaded by [Jawaharlal Nehru University] at 22:46 26 August 2014

Hans R. Pruppachev and James D. Klett

Classic scientific textbooks are often referred to as the "bibles" of those fields. Although the true Bible is not known to have a
second edition (albeit many translated editions), that is certainly not the case for scientific "bibles." In fact, revisions and updates of scientific books are always
welcomed by the scientific community. In
this sense, this book is to be considered as
the revised "bible" of cloud physics whose
prcvious incarnation appeared in 1978.
Pruppacher and Klett's book is the most
comprchensive and updated treatment on
the microphysics of clouds and precipitation.
Period. It was already so when the first edition was published nearly 20 years ago, a
timc when a textbook on the physical and
chemical foundations for the formation of
cloud and precipitation particles was badly
needed. That book more than adequately
satisfied the need. It provided not only the
materials for class-teaching purposes but
also summaries of research results. Cloud
physics is a newer branch of atmospheric
science and its research is highly cross-disciplinary: meteorology, atomic and molecular
physics, crystallography, solid-state physics,
thermodynamics, physical chemistry, statistical mechanics, fluid mechanics, aerosol
physics, electromagnetism, etc. The authors
put together an astonishing amount of information in a fairly "fat" book (714 pages) in
the first edition. (Well, I happen to know
that the 0th edition was even fatter but got
trimmed down to that size.) Now, the second
revised and enlarged edition for 1997 and
Aerosol Sciencc and Technology 28:381-382 (1998)
O 1998 American Association for Aerosol Research
Published by Elscvicr Science Inc.

published by Kluwer Academic Publishers is

954 pages!
What distinguishes this work from most
other cloud physics books is that this book
tells you not only who did what but derives
the necessary equations as well. Thus, you
don't have to rush to the library all the time
to check out the cited journals for details.
The derivations are detailed enough for
readers to follow without too much trouble
but not overly cumbersome.
The chapters of the revised and enlarged
edition follow closely that of the first edition
except that they are either modified or expanded. These are: 1) Historical Review; 2)
Microstructure of Atmospheric Clouds and
Precipitation; 3) The Structure of Water
Substance; 4) Equilibrium between Water
Vapor, Water, Aqueous Solutions, and Ice
in Bulk; 5) Surface Properties of Water Substance; 6) Equilibrium Behavior of Cloud
Drops and Ice Particles; 7) Homogeneous
Nucleation; 8) The Atmospheric Aerosol
and Trace Gases; 9) Heterogeneous Nucleation; 10) Hydrodynamics of Single Cloud
and Precipitation Particles; 11) Mechanics
of the Atmospheric Aerosol; 12) Cooling of
Moist Air; 13) Diffusion Growth and Evaporation of Water Drops and Snow Crystals;
14) Cloud Particles Interactions; 15) Growth
of Cloud Drops by Collision, Coalescence,
and Breakup; 16) Growth of Ice Particles by
Accretion and Ice Particle Melting; 17)
Cloud Chemistry; 18) Cloud Electricity.
Earlier chapters contain less modifications as these are mainly the classical foundations in physics and chemistry and hence

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382 Book Reviews

in no need of much change. New research

results are included and new charts are provided when necessary. The latter part of
chapter 7 and a large part of chapter 8 are
revised significantly to reflect the current
trends of these subjects. The atmospheric
chemistry of trace gases is a hot research
area that yielded three Nobel Prizes in
Chemistry in 1995, and the foundations of
this is nicely summarized here in chapter 8.
The diffusional and collisional growth of
cloud and precipitation particles is one of
the core subjects of cloud physics, and research advance is rapid in this area. Hence it
is no surprising that Chapters 10 to 16 contain large amount of revisions to include new
research results, many of which were carried
out by Pruppacher and his colleagues. Chapter 17 on cloud chemistry is entirely new and
contains in-depth discussions of recent research results on the interaction between
cloud particles and aerosolltrace gases.
Again, Pruppacher and colleagues in Mainz,
Germany have contributed heavily to the
rescarch of this subject area. Chapter 18 on
cloud electricity is a much expanded version
of the same subjcct appeared in the first
edition.
The fonts used in the new edition are
somewhat larger than those in the first edition and are casicr to read. Many old figures
are also modified using larger fonts in the
legends.
The amount of materials presented in this
book can be summarized in one word: overwhelming. Yet this does not mean that the
book is simply a collection of recent knowl-

Aerosol Science and Technology

28:4 April 1998

edge put together (as would be the case for

many books that are really just conference
proceedings). The opposite is true. The authors made painstaking effort to present the
materials in a smooth and continuous way
that no doubt required them to digest the
materials first. In summary, I think the authors have done a great job in producing the
new edition of this monumental book.
This book is indispensable to researchers
in cloud physics, atmospheric aerosol physics, and atmospheric chemistry. They will
find in-depth discussions of nearly all topics
about cloud microphysics as well as abundant relevant references (more than 60 pages!). Atmospheric scientists in general (including those who are in climate studies
since cloud forcing is an important climate
factor) will also greatly benefit from the
book if they wish to understand the physics
of cloud and precipitation processes. The
book will serve as an excellent reference for
graduate students in cloud physics, cloud dynamics, aerosol physics, and chemistry. The
book contains more than enough material
for a common one-year-long cloud physics
course, so the instructor needs to use his or
her discretion in selecting appropriate chapters and sections.
Reviewed by
Pao K. Wang, Professor
Department of Atmospheric and
Oceanic Sciences
University of Wisconsin-Madison