A new theory explaining the atomization phenomena in swirl atomizers is presented. The theory is based on (1) experimental data from the authors own work, and the work of others as cited in this article, and (2) Kolmogorov minimum length scale in h is theory of turbulence. The experimental data for mean drop size from a large variety of atomizers is presented, along with the predictions of both the previous theories and the new theory. The new theory is shown to be far simpler and in better agreement with experimental data than any of the previous representations.