  We present an analysis of brown dwarf model spectra in the mid-infrared
spectral region (5 - 20 microns), in anticipation of data obtained with the
Space Infrared Telescope Facility. The mid-infrared spectra of brown dwarfs are
in several ways simpler than those in the near-infrared and yet provide
powerful diagnostics of brown dwarf atmospheric physics and chemistry,
especially when combined with ground-based data. We discuss the possibility of
detection of new molecular species and of the silicate cloud, predict strong
observational diagnostics for non-equilibrium chemistry between CO and CH4, and
N2 and NH3, and speculate on the possibility of discovering brown dwarf
stratospheres.

Astrophysics