The sulfate can play the same role as cloud particles, activating chlorine. (sciencemag.org)
The tiny particles also serve as condensation nuclei for clouds and are trapped between cloud particles, where their ability to absorb heat helps dry up those clouds and allows more sunlight to reach Earth. (scientificamerican.com)
Prather's instrument — a tangle of metal tubes, wires, and airtight chambers nicknamed Shirley — tick - tick - ticks as its laser blasts apart hundreds of microscopic cloud particles, one by one, that are drawn in from the air outside. (discovermagazine.com)