Presents the story of Luke Howard, an ameteur meterologist, and his groundbreaking work that began with naming and classifying clouds.

An extraordinary yet little-known scientific advance occurred in the opening years of the nineteenth century when a young amateur meteorologist, Luke Howard, gave the clouds the names by which they are known to this day. By creating a language to define structures that had, up to then, been considered random and unknowable, Howard revolutionized the science of meteorology and earned the admiration of his leading contemporaries in art, literature and science. Richard Hamblyn charts Howard’s life from obscurity to international fame, and back to obscurity once more. He recreates the period’s intoxicating atmosphere of scientific discovery, and shows how this provided inspiration for figures such as Goethe, Shelley and Constable. Offering rich insights into the nature of celebrity, the close relationship between the sciences and the arts, and the excitement generated by new ideas, The Invention of Clouds is an enthralling work of social and scientific history.

Become an expert on clouds and skies with this definitive guide to cloudspotting, produced in association with the Met Office. Clouds have been the object of fascination throughout history, providing food for thought for scientists and daydreamers alike. In this comprehensive guide to the skies, Dr. Richard Hamblyn introduces you to all the different cloud species, including twelve newly recognized cloud forms. Produced in association with the Met Office—the world’s premier weather forecasting bureau—all things to do with the origin and development of a cloud are here. Whether you are looking at a giant fluffy cloud or a tiny fleeting wisp, your cloudspotting will be expertly informed and much more satisfying with this guide. Not only will you be able to identify individual clouds as they appear, but also to track their likely changes over time, and thus predict weather patterns. Illustrated with stunning images from around the globe, this book will unlock the mysteries of the skies so that you can enjoy cloudspotting and skygazing every day.

Clouds have been objects of delight and fascination throughout human history, their fleeting magnificence and endless variety having inspired scientists and daydreamers alike. Described by Aristophanes as “the patron goddesses of idle men,” clouds and the ever-changing patterns they create have long symbolized the restlessness and unpredictability of nature, and yet they are also the source of life-giving rains. In this book, Richard Hamblyn examines clouds in their cultural, historic, and scientific contexts, exploring their prevalence in our skies as well as in our literature, art, and music. As Hamblyn shows, clouds function not only as a crucial means of circulating water around the globe but also as a finely tuned thermostat regulating the planet’s temperature. He discusses the many different kinds of clouds, from high, scattered cirrus clouds to the plump thought-bubbles of cumulus clouds, even exploring man-made clouds and clouds on other planets. He also shows how clouds have featured as meaningful symbols in human culture, whether as ominous portents of coming calamities or as ethereal figures giving shape to the heavens, whether in Wordsworth’s poetry or today’s tech speak. Comprehensive yet compact, cogent and beautifully illustrated, this is the ultimate guidebook to those shapeshifters of the sky.

A selection of some of the most startling and unusual cloud formations, from the uniform streaks of 'cloud streets' to the odd bulbous 'lenticularis' that are commonly mistaken for UFOs.|Discover the amazing and unexpected world of clouds with this inspiring collection of images. Clouds present us with an ongoing visual exhibition that transforms the sky into a constantly changing, mood-altering display of light, shade, volume and colour. Richard Hamblyn, acclaimed author, offers a selection of some of the most startling and unusual cloud formations, accompanied by Hamblyn's entertaining and informative explanation of how the cloud was formed and the conditions in which a similar one might occur. The images use satellite photography of clouds from above as well as ground-based pictures and the collection demonstrates the most unexpected and seemingly impossible patterns that can be created by the natural cycles of the weather. Extraordinary Clouds is divided into five distinct chapters: Clouds from the Air - Whether seen from a mountain summit, an airplane window or an orbiting satellite on the fringes of space, our atmosphere can exhibit some surprising characteristics when viewed from above. Vortex clouds, fallstreak holes, Jetstream cirrus, and cloud streets are just some of the cloud formations captured from the air in this chapter. Strange Shapes - Clouds come in a wide variety of distinctive shapes and some of them can be very strange indeed. From roll clouds and decaying altocumulus to swirling cirrocumulus and the odd bulbous lenticularis that are commonly mistaken for UFOs. Optical Effects - Clouds refract and diffract sunlight into vivid displays of colour and this section is devoted to the most beautiful of these cloud-induced light effects, from the pastel shades of iridescence and colourful rainbows to the bright flames of sun pillars and crepuscular rays. Theatrical Skies - Great atmospheric dramas are in continuous production all around the world: severe supercell thunderstorms, tornadic lightning strikes, violent dust storms, and a glorious fallstreak hole at sunset all feature in this striking chapter. Man-made Clouds - The impact of human activity has made its mark on every corner of our planet including the atmosphere, and throughout this chapter you will recognize a variety of these man-made clouds in the sky: fumulus clouds from industrial cooling towers, contrails from aircrafts, a noctilucent rocket trail, wing clouds, and pyrocumulus formed after man-made fires, or erupting volcanoes and forest fires. Produced in association with the Met Office - the world's premier weather forecasting bureau - who have written the Foreword for the book, Extraordinary Clouds celebrates the cloud formations and atmospheric phenomena that are completely our of the ordinary, from the merest wisp of a fleeting dust devil to the tops of thunderstorms visible from space.

The novel tells the story of Akira Kumo, a retired couturier living in Paris, owner of the world's largest collection of books about clouds, and Virginie Latour, whom Kumo hires to help catalogue his library. While they work he tells her the story behind three figures in particular, all British, all obsessed by clouds: Luke Howard, a real-life Quaker who in 1802 wrote the first treatise classifying clouds (we still use it today); a painter named Carmichael, clearly based on John Constable, one of the most famous cloud painters of all time, and a fictional amateur meteorologist named Richard Abercrombie, who aspires to write the definitive book on cloud description, which would come to be known in cloud circles as the Abercrombie Protocol. Kumo sends Virginie Latour to London to buy the Protocol. By the end of the novel, we learn the Protocol's great secret; we understand what binds these men together; and and we learn that Kumo himself is a survivor of the Hiroshima blast, in whose cloud his family vanished.

"This big picture history of atmospheric research examines the first six decades of the twentieth century, from the dawn of applied fluid dynamics to the emergence, by 1960, of the interdisciplinary atmospheric sciences. Using newly available archival sources, it documents the work of three interconnected generations of scientists: Vilhelm Bjerknes, Carl-Gustaf Rossby, and Harry Wexler, whose aspirations were fueled by new theoretical insights, pressing societal needs, and expanded technological capabilities. Radio, radar, aviation, nuclear tracers, digital computing, sounding rockets, and satellites provided new ways to measure and study the global atmosphere -- a huge and dauntingly complex system. Bjerknes brought us a fundamental circulation theorem and founded the Bergen school of weather forecasting; Rossby established the graduate schools of meteorology at M.I.T., Chicago, and Stockholm, which focused on upper-air dynamics and, after 1947, on atmospheric environmental issues; and Wexler brought all the new technologies into the U.S. Weather Bureau and, with his colleague Jule Charney, prepared the foundations for the emergence of the interdisciplinary atmospheric sciences. This history weaves together cold war studies, military history, the rise of government research and development, and aviation and aeronautics with a nascent global awareness. It is a fascinating history of something we all experience--the weather --told through compelling historical characters"--Provided by publisher.