Boris Smirnov was born in 1938 in Moscow. In 1962 he graduated from Moscow's Engineering-Physical Institute  in Theoretical Nuclear Physics. He got the dissertation of Candidate of Phys. Mat. Science in 1964, and Doctor of Phys. Mat. Science in 1968. He became a Professor of Physics in 1970. In the years 1962-1982 he was Head of Laboratory at Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy (Moscow), from 1982-1986 Head of Laboratory at Institute of Thermophysics (Novosibirsk) and from 1986 Head of Laboratory, Head of Department and now Principal Scientific at Joint Institute for High Temperatures of Russian Academy of Science. B.M. Smirnov was a member of the editorial Board of several journals of various publishers. He was Professor of the Moscow Power Institute, Novosibirsk, State University and the Moscow Institute of Science and Technology. He was a laureate of the National Prize of Russia. His research is focused on Theoretical Physics, Atomic, Molecular, Cluster, Plasma and ChemicalPhysics. He is author of 53 books and about 500 papers.

• Part 1 - Fundamentals of atmosphere and atmospheric processes.- Properties of neutral atmosphere.- Charged particles in atmosphere.- Electric processes in atmosphere.- Part 2 -  Elementary and transport atmospheric processes.- Electron processes in atmospheric air.- Ion processes in atmospheric air.- Processes in dissociated air.- Atmospheric processes involving aerosols.- Part 3 - Radiative processes in the earth.- Photoionization atmospheric processes.- Infrared atmospheric emission.- Local atmospheric photo-processes.

"The volume under review has its goal 'to give a reliable description of various global atmospheric properties' including process which involves 'ions, oxygen atoms, excited atomic particles and ozone molecules'. ... The book is arranged to systematically present the required principles and practice. ... Given the continued vital interest in the processes underway in the Earth's atmosphere, this book will serve well the reader who wishes to participate in scientific studies of the complex system in which we live." (K. Alan Shore, Contemporary Physics, Vol. 58 (2), January, 2017)