Planetary Atmospheres as Nonequilibrium Condensed Matter

Planetary atmospheres, and models of them, are discussed from the viewpoint of condensed matter physics. Atmospheres are a form of condensed matter, and many of the most interesting concepts of condensed matter systems are realized by them. The essential physics of the general circulation is illustrated with idealized two-layer and one-layer models of the atmosphere. Equilibrium and nonequilibrium statistical mechanics are used to directly ascertain the statistics of these models.