Howard strongly believed that "cloud formation and destruction were visible signs of atmospheric processes and were based on the laws of physics." Howard referred to cloud formation as "nubification", a term that was never popularized. Howard had the same elementary knowledge of cloud physics as many other researchers at the time, including his close friend and chemist John Dalton. Some of this knowledge was generally correct, like Howard and Dalton's belief that clouds were formations of water particles, that the slow speed of the particles' descension was due to air resistance, and that they evaporated right below the cloud base. Howard, however, held some incorrect beliefs about cloud physics. Primarily Howard gave electricity too large a role in the formation of clouds. The knowledge Howard had about cloud physics partially formed his motives for creating a classification system.