Customer Reviews

An Introduction to Atmospheric Thermodynamics

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I've only glanced at the second edition of this book, but it was enough to notice that one of the examples from the first edition (in the section on Gay-Lussac's Law) has made it into the second edition, despite the author being informed that it was incorrect. It's an example about a house being heated in winter and the pressure difference that could be expected between the inside and outside. Luckily, it's always very close to zero pressure difference between the inside and outside, but the author comes up with 7.3%!! and glosses over it with the statement that window glass "can withstand such pressure changes easily." I have my doubts about that, but I do know that I don't want to be standing outside the front door if it's got that sort of pressure difference on it, since it amounts to about 3000 pounds pushing outward!

The book is a decent treatment of atmospheric thermodynamics otherwise, but it would be nice if the real applications to the atmosphere could be arrived at sooner, and covered in more detail. Most texts ignore the common stability indices that are used in forecasting, and this one is no exception, despite the fact that they've been in use for decades.