Editing Atmospheric physics (section)

{{Short description|Sub-field of physics dealing with the atmosphere's structure, composition, and motion}}
{{Atmospheric sciences| atmophys=true}}
Within the [[atmospheric sciences]], '''atmospheric physics''' is the application of [[physics]] to the study of the [[Earth's atmosphere|atmosphere]]. Atmospheric physicists attempt to model [[Earth's atmosphere]] and the atmospheres of the other [[planet]]s using [[fluid dynamics|fluid flow]] equations, [[radiation budget]], and energy transfer processes in the atmosphere (as well as how these tie into boundary systems such as the oceans). In order to model weather systems, atmospheric physicists employ elements of [[scattering theory]], wave propagation models, [[cloud physics]], [[statistical mechanics]] and [[spatial statistics]] which are highly mathematical and related to physics. It has close links to [[meteorology]] and [[climatology]] and also covers the design and construction of instruments for studying the atmosphere and the interpretation of the data they provide, including [[remote sensing]] instruments. At the dawn of the space age and the introduction of sounding rockets, aeronomy became a subdiscipline concerning the upper layers of the atmosphere, where dissociation and ionization are important.