  The study of atmospheric ice nuclei is vital for understanding the formation
of precipitation and the development of cloud systems as it reveals how these
tiny particles grow. A mechanism of such growth when the nuclei are in a mixed
ice/water phase and quantum vacuum fluctuation-induced Casimir-Lifshitz
interaction highlights the complexity and interconnection of the atmospheric
processes with quantum theory. Initially of the order of $0.1\sim10\rm\mu m$ in
size, atmospheric ice nuclei can expand by the accumulation of water molecules
from the surrounding water vapor.
