Theory of charge and mass transfer in ice-ice collisions

A new model describes charge and mass transfer in ice-ice collisions in ter ms of fundamental molecular physics. Drawing on clues from results of recen t and earlier experiments, the theory treats the collisions as interlinked events acting in three stages: before collision, during contact, and withdr awal. The theory provides quantitative descriptions of charge and mass tran sfer and their dependence on growth rate, temperature, and impact energy. A pplication of the theory to experimental simulations of thunderstorm chargi ng explains general trends in terms of basic microscopic processes.