Title: particle size distribution
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - particle size distribution
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.P04431
Status: current

Definition
The size of the liquid or solid particles in the atmosphere usually extends from \(>0.01\) to \(< 100\ \unicode[Times]{x3BC}\rm{m}\) in diameter. In the earth's atmosphere the distribution function which describes the number of particles as a function of diameter, mass or surface area of the aerosol can be determined reasonably well with modern instrumentation.

Related Term
- aerosol: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/A00176

Source
- PAC, 1990, 62, 2167. 'Glossary of atmospheric chemistry terms (Recommendations 1990)' on page 2205 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199062112167)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/P04431/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/P04431/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/P04431/xml

Citation: Citation: 'particle size distribution' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.P04431
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Accessed: 2026-07-27T02:40:52+00:00