Term: droplet
https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.D01861

Definition:
A small liquid particle. The size of droplets encountered in the atmosphere extends over a wide range; e.g. liquid aerosol solutions which make up the fine particle fraction of continental tropospheric aerosol are usually 2 µm in diameter. Cloud water droplets usually have diameters in the range of 5-70 µm, while rain droplets commonly have diameters ranging from 0.1-3 mm.

Related Terms:
1) aerosol (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.A00176).

Source: PAC, 1990, 62, 2167. 'Glossary of atmospheric chemistry terms (Recommendations 1990)' on page 2185 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199062112167)

Citation: 'droplet' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.D01861

License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms.

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