Why Lentic
What's with the name of this site?
Well, back in the days, when I was young and foolish, I was a very active glider pilot. At about the same time, I got tired of changing email address every other year, so I thought it would be a good idea to get my own domain. Finding a good domain name is not easy these days, they are usually taken. So I looked through some gliding terms, and the name lentic showed up. It's short and pretty easy to say, and it actually means something to glider pilots and others with an unhealthy interest in meteorology.
So what is it?
Under certain weather conditions, when strong wind is blowing across a mountain ridge, a phenomenon called "lee-waves" occur. The mechanisms are quite similar to when water in a stream passes over a stone. The ripples behind the stone stand still, and the water runs through.
Back to the mountain ridge. These waves can be very high, it is not unusual that they stretch up to 10000 meters or more. When air is rising, it also cools down (revisit your physics class for explanation), and if it is moist enough, it will eventually condensate and form a cloud. In a lee-wave, these clouds will form at the top of the waves, and they will be lens shaped. The correct name for them is "Altocumulus Lenticularis", but that's way too difficult for pilots to say, so it's "lentic" among friends. Find more information and some photos of the phenomenon at this Wikipedia entry
lee-waves
Why do I know all this?
Why bother, you may ask, I'm not a meteorologist. For a glider pilot it matters. They often uses the rising air in these waves to climb to extreme altitudes, and the lentic clouds are a very good sign to find these waves.
To sum it up
In my sailplane days, the name was a very good choice, and as it happened, it is not that far off with today's focus on these pages. After all, lenticularis is a Latin word meaning "lens-shaped".