Thermal Physics of the Atmosphere

Maarten H. P. Ambaum is the author of Thermal Physics of the Atmosphere, published by Wiley.

• Preface ix Useful data xi1 Ideal gases 11.1 Thermodynamic variables 11.2 Microscopic viewpoint 61.3 Ideal gas mixtures 10Problems 142 The first and second laws 172.1 Work 172.2 Energy conservation: the first law 212.3 Entropy and the second law 232.4 Boltzmann entropy 272.5 Entropy and probability: a macroscopic example 302.6 Entropy and probability: a stochastic example 34Problems 363 General applications 393.1 Thermodynamic potentials 393.2 Heat capacity 443.3 Properties of ideal gases 473.4 van der Waals’ gases 503.5 Open systems: enthalpy flux 533.6 Latent heat 553.7 Turbulent energy fluxes 573.8 Potential temperature 60Problems 634 The atmosphere under gravity 674.1 Geopotential 674.2 Hydrostatic balance 694.3 Adiabatic lapse rate 744.4 Buoyancy 774.5 Dry static energy and Bernoulli function 814.6 Statistical mechanics 84Problems 895 Water in the atmosphere 935.1 The Clausius–Clapeyron equation 945.2 Calculation of saturated vapour pressure 975.3 Humidity variables 1005.4 Moist static energy 104Problems 1066 Vertical structure of the moist atmosphere 1096.1 Adiabatic lapse rate for moist air 1096.2 Entropy budget for saturated air 1126.3 Finite amplitude instabilities 1156.4 Vertical structure in thermodynamic diagrams 1176.5 Convective available potential energy 1217 Cloud drops 1257.1 Homogeneous nucleation: the Kelvin effect 1257.2 Heterogeneous nucleation: the Raoult effect 1317.3 K¨ohler theory 1327.4 Charge-enhanced nucleation 1377.5 Droplet growth 141Problems 1518 Mixtures and solutions 1538.1 Chemical potentials 1538.2 Ideal gas mixtures and ideal solutions 1558.3 Raoult’s law revisited 1588.4 Boiling and freezing of solutions 159Problems 1629 Thermal radiation 1659.1 Thermal radiation and Kirchhoff’s law 1659.2 The Stefan–Boltzmann and Wien displacement laws 1689.3 Global energy budget and the greenhouse effect 1709.4 Horizontal variations 1759.5 Radiative intensity 1779.6 Radiative transfer 1809.7 Radiative-convective equilibrium 1859.8 Thermodynamics of a photon gas 1919.9 Derivation of the Planck law 195Problems 20010 Non-equilibrium processes 20310.1 Energetics of motion 20310.2 Diabatic effects and the second law 20810.3 Thermodynamics of forced dissipative systems 21310.4 Climate thermodynamics 215Problems 220Appendix A Functions of several variables 221Appendix B Exergy and thermodynamic stability 223Appendix C Thermodynamic diagrams 227Appendix D Relationship between energy density and energy flux 233Index 235

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