The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1851-05-10

HriGHr rOHcE AID VELOCITY or
WAVES,

irri f0n-imes speak OF tls waves 10 running
"i4Jguilins hixb," bot exaggerated ~ b this
siItsmrnr IL IL doubtful whether those who
ttka ifiI . Literal sunse do not rually enter
ttiu o more iusi iipA OF the a-tuAl power Of
she F-gyei dian those Vl,0 more philosophical
h. ipea.pt thsfr height W ibel and iiehes
apf i1rA = corresponding idea OF thHir force
Wshaye recently lad melancholy hi-
tl,uae " the iOn of tho waves 10 tha des-
lrueti1n ol,RspuolnPs which some Of our best
caliuecls gOHNlrred impregnable "a the as
.auii NJ tho elements, This event has al ca
au interest % the Investigations which have
tvcu made a. % the height hti force Of Dle
waves. We hnd upon comparing various au
th3r,ies, uilt therl 10 q diilaencu Of Opinon
iprsll40u 20 lhssv subjects u was ilie com
u4uiy received opinion among scenuhc men
several years finre, that no wave rises over
ten larl above the Ordinary lagel Of the water,
which, Wit,A dmilar depression, would give
hsi{l.t o. twenty foot iion tho bottom OF the
hollow m ~ rrost Of tha wave, Humboldt
ia BE tfpmns, estimates the height Of Ihe
wave latgsn'y,nve feet
n a ust. upil quite Recently, ilawayor,tha
Hny careful investigation OF tho phenomena
vi. wave, has been instituted,T bF, scoresby,
f ~ paper read before the british AssoelA,
iipn 10 Rdlnburg, las thrOwa much light OPP
on this interesting inquiry. Ills researches
Were conducted during tso Atlantic voyages
in atc1Wsiipi uuier ciUcnLaslaAcea Xery la
Nlgtb'e Tor oblgiNadon. By an examination
iltilut@d daring har,l gale, hc found that
tF' average hcigu Of GAgaa was fall hAson
feet and upwards, and tLs Highest waves a.
lsi4t f-et hir,st- titt, rvri uftnr
hollow lilo also found that Aher a storm Of
,nDont t,irty-siK hOurs' durAdou, which had
ablted several hour bltor. the observation
~ that t,c waves had precvpubly suhsldod
waves were noticed oftwonty-six feet average
elevation FROM ridge 90 hollow. aud even OF
thirty feet They were, however, Of no very
great pNtent on the ridge.
When waves meet with an obstruction their
height /. increased, AtA recent meeting OF
the British Association, Thomas Stevenson,
Esq, ciyil engineer gave the results Of some
careful Oblurl atOns made az the ioll Rock
lighthouse. froru which IL appears that on the
2tth Novcuber, lSi7, IN heavy ground
awall, amer storm, solid water rose az the
Bell Rock lighthouse ono hundred and Elk
feet shove the level OF the aea. IL we rocol'
lrCt right, tho waves have been known TO
dash mp the sidos oftho Eidystoua lighthouse
% the height Of tho lantern, which i over one
hundred irri olovo tho rock, We are inform
cd by Mr Bennett, the keeper Of the light
Aousr late on Minots Rock ,that he has known
tho waves TO rise az that structure above the
couplings ofthc piles, which we're thirty-fve
feet above the rock, aud about twenty-five
above the high water mark Here however,
the piles oftho lighthouse offered but small
resistance Ia tlic waye' compared with n sol.
id structure, and the only thing which would
b. likely to RAISE water above the usual level,
i. "a, striking against the rock itself This,
however, being several feet below the lrVei
OF high water, would tend rather 90 break the
waves than 10 increase tlieir height. There
Is good reason 10 believe that during the re.
cent storm which dciiroycd the lighthouse,
the waves struck the store room, the bottom
81 which was iorty-sovon feet above the rock
and Rllowiug iyv ivut cXlra for the eNtraor.
binary rise OF the tide, thirty. two feet above
high water mark
The length aad yelo.i'y ofwayca vary
w rounding the Cape OF Good Hope, waves,
or rather swell, are mot with, so vast, that
y Jew ridges aul a GN doprrssions occupy the
oAtrnt Ola mile, These waves propagate
tltsir motion a, the rate OF thirty or forty
miles az hour, Mr. A.. c. Fintllcy, in pa
peg read before tho Society oi Arts, stated
that waves from three hundred to four hun
drva Il. long, travel With q Ncloeity of twcn.
Is 20 hvcnly-seNcn md one half miles per
hour, whether they are five or iOy-i6ur feet
nltotal height.
They travel iar great distances, aud arr
'oOcn raised hy distant hurricanes, having
lh.tl ~
arc ak hundred miles apart, and he remark
ed thnt il is probable that ernund- swnlla- of.
Ten originate NJ the Cape OF Good Hope, n
distance Of three thousand miles. Dr. Scores
l.-a-a- fra~r-ufrvar,-
Hiiurirri, r1rpfuity estimated the ycloeity OF
the waves, and found Il tu bc ~ the rate Of
S2.G7 English statute miles per hour He
estimated 569 feet as the probable mean dis
lance of the waves or the width passed over
4 Il
ror 10 supposc that the water advances with
the wave IL is the form only which adyan-
ocs, the wsiet ri,iag and falling in the same
place, except WHOM it reaches beach, when
II becomes really progressive from the fact
that il cannot sink directly down, and there
fore falls over forward.
These statements in relation to the height
aud velocity OF waves, have perhaps prepared
our readers TO estimate with some degree Of
corfecncss their force. When we see coll
umn of water at least thirty feet in height,
advancing with the speed OF railroad train,
we can readily imagine that its force is almost
irresistible. We have already mentioned the
-inYGzL -alina2- Als St4sa#seI,r- -et,srr--
yations on the force of the waves, made by
him with reference To the construction ef ma
rine works, are OF much interest and impor-
lance. These observations were made by
means Of the marine dynomcter. lie found
that during westerly gale on the 29th OF
March, 1915, force Of three tons per square
foOt-was eAerted,at theSkerryVore lighthouse
In the Atlantic ocean, IN tho German ocean,
at the Bell Rock lighthouse, tho greatest re-
Sut registered was 3ol3 pounds, or about one
and hGbtoHs Per square .JooL These results
arc astonishing, aud it IS no wonder, that in
the eireeuHter, with such force, the largest
chips are but teys, and wood and iron almost
rs fragile as glass. Nothing but stone can be
expected to resist such = force. and that must
be as firmly fastened as the lodges on which
the waves spend their fury,
RAILROAD ACCIDENTS IN l95O.-The an |
nual Reports Of tho Railroad Corporations for
1880. in Massachusetts, show the following |