Editor’s note: Physics is an integral part of atmospheric science, whether one deals with forensic investigations (as in the article on page 32), local meteorology, climate change, or other planets’ atmospheres. Forty-four years ago, Hans Panofsky made the case that most meteorologists are really physicists in disguise.
Thirty five years or so ago, meteorologists practiced a descriptive science; they looked at weather maps and moved “highs” and “lows” around without understanding much of what they were doing. But now, meteorology having become a physical science, a discussion of the applications of physics to atmospheric problems includes most of meteorology. I shall not attempt here to present a complete catalog of the applications of physics to atmospheric studies. I shall limit myself to indicating the uses of hydrodynamics and thermodynamics, both needed in such basic problems as weather forecasting and explaining the general circulation. Some kinds of problems have been...
