21Sep 2022 by Nigel Fleming No Comments

linkedin post 2020-11-18 05:10:38

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ON CHAOS AND ORDER. On the crystal formation theme and order emerging from chaos in phase changes of inert molecules, we see the same phenomena in clouds, and of course, in the inanimate planetary universe, such as the concentric rings of Saturn. Immutable physical laws acting on macroscopic matter. Ilya Prigogine, the Nobel winning chemist, made a brilliant career on the topsy-turvey thought that chaos is critical for the development of order, or oder through fluctuation. https://lnkd.in/dDHtwje View in LinkedIn
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21Sep 2022 by Nigel Fleming No Comments

linkedin post 2020-11-18 05:03:40

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PATTERNS. “The nonliving universe is as diverse and as dynamic as the living universe, and is also dominated by patterns of organization that are not yet understood. This picture of living creatures, as patterns of organization rather than collections of molecules, applies also to sand dunes and snowflakes, thunderstorms and hurricanes.” https://lnkd.in/dts5S86 View in LinkedIn
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21Sep 2022 by Nigel Fleming No Comments

linkedin post 2020-11-18 05:01:55

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CLOUDS. Every time I fly, I am impressed by the cloudscapes, and their orderly forms composed of disorderly vapor molecules. It is a grand self-assembly of innate materials, following some rigid physical laws. Given that weather systems are infinitely chaotic on one level, why do we have only ~100 cloud types? https://lnkd.in/dxRTsaW View in LinkedIn
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21Sep 2022 by Nigel Fleming No Comments

linkedin post 2020-11-18 05:00:00

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A NEW SECTION STARTS on the subject of the biology and ecology of clouds. This layer of planet Earth is just a fluffy blanket, and for centuries we considered it to be as sterile as mother’s milk, but both assumptions turned out wrong. Life ‘will find a way’, is a famous quote from Jurassic Park. We have only just started to scratch the surface of microbial life, which seems to have no limits for its habitats. The door is opening in surprising ways. View in LinkedIn
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21Sep 2022 by Nigel Fleming No Comments

linkedin post 2020-11-19 05:18:44

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CATALYSTS. "Clouds are a very special subset of the atmosphere because they present substantial amounts of condensed-phase water (liquid or solid) that can dissolve gases that would otherwise be present in the gas phase, and, as a consequence of condensed-phase reactions, permit reactions to occur that would not otherwise occur or would be much slower. In this sense "clouds may be considered to serve as catalysts of atmospheric reactions." https://lnkd.in/dHZs9ca View in LinkedIn
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21Sep 2022 by Nigel Fleming No Comments

linkedin post 2020-11-19 05:17:13

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SUPERCOOLING. "Water droplets commonly remain as liquid water and do not freeze, even well below 0 °C (32 °F), because of the high surface tension of each microdroplet, which prevents them from expanding to form larger ice crystals. Without ice nuclei supercooled water droplets can exist down to about −40 °C (−40 °F), at which point they will spontaneously freeze." https://lnkd.in/dYECyJe View in LinkedIn
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21Sep 2022 by Nigel Fleming No Comments
linkedin post 2020-11-19 05:14:31

linkedin post 2020-11-19 05:14:31

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WHY CLOUDS DON'T FALL. "Upward vertical motions, or updrafts, in the atmosphere also contribute to the floating appearance of clouds by offsetting the small fall velocities of their constituent particles. Clouds generally form, survive and grow in air that is moving upward. Even a large droplet having a radius of 100 microns has a fall velocity of only about 27 centimeters per second (cm/s). And because ice crystals have more irregular shapes, their fall velocities are relatively smaller." http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-clouds-float-when/ View in LinkedIn
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