Abstract
DR. DAVIES1 refers to the significance of the multiplier K in the ‘power law’ frequency function dN = KD−γ dD describing the size distribution of particles. His remarks, however, could apply to any function of the general form Kƒ(D). The multiplier K does not in any way define the relative frequencies with variation of D ; this is completely defined by ƒ(D). If, however, two or more distributions were combined, it would be necessary to specify individual values of K in order to define the contributions of the different components: Apart from its use with a multi-term distribution the multiplier K could be used to adjust the value of a definite integral to a specific total, although it is rarely used for this purpose. In the examples shown by Davies the total is fixed at 100 per cent and the lower limit of the integral is indirectly varied by varying K. His curves express the cumulative per cent below size where 100 per cent corresponds to:
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Davies, C. N., Nature, 201, 172 (1964).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
CARTWRIGHT, J. Distribution of Particle Size in Dust. Nature 203, 1057 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1038/2031057b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2031057b0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.