High-Speed Photography of Airborne Atmospheric Particles

Abstract

Atmospheric particles ?10? in diameter have been successfully photographed in situ using cameras with microsecond-duration flash lamps. Several such cameras developed and used in the past are discussed in this article. A bright-field camera for photographing precipitation particles, and a light-weight portable dark-field camera for photographing cloud particles have been developed at this laboratory. Several representative photographs are presented to demonstrate these cameras' imaging properties and to illustrate their use. The cameras have been used successfully to photograph particles at ground level. Mechanical motion compensation will be required at aircraft speeds if nonstreaked images are to be produced.