, 1859-04-30
The AtmoAp1le ere q outrunntn& tho Earth
III Dlurnal Notion

| The Atmosphere coutrunntn% tho EoFth
III D1urnal Notion
1C..1:=sposdr:,cs If t!.t Ft.t. 4.d Ts'~n.l
EA1rAEA,so Isr., Alrlet. 1so9.
MEssns. EpI1ors In conversation had q
few DAYS since with Mr.. Dau:.,er, the Ironaut
| nho was assisting the celebrated Thurston
when le made his last and fatal ascent i'll allch.
| ivan, he mentioned phenomenon which he
said was we'll known to bslloonists, but which
| d. No. rceulect eyer tu h4vc Sccn or heard Of
bcfnzc. that at !. height "f about two miles and
| upwards in the atmo> >phcrc, thcre is L constant
aad inyariaLle current from West to East; that
is, that the air ut and above 1lat height loWs
| around the earth from West to East faster than
| the earth rcvolyes in the same direction, so is
to gain Of the ear1i! aud carry balloon east
| ward, u.s. for instance, from America to Europe
"r Africa. l !luvc seen paragraph in the pa
| rels to tie effect that writer in the New Or
lrans hit, has recently stated tile same thing.
and calls such eastward current the return CUT
rent Of the trade winds.
| Whether the trade winds can produce such
effect, or whether they lave unr such return
current, TN unable, and will moi attempt, to
| determine, but wish to offer 4 few suggestions
| relative to the possible cause. nature and cflec
| ur this universal and invariable upper cnrren
| Of the ea.1ll's atmosphere, with view to elicit
the attention Of ,!,nkir. and scientific minds
tn thu subject. in hope that light may br shed
upon that interesting question, "What is thu
direct natural cause Of the solar and Planetary
l.cvolutiors:"
The tune was when it would have been re-
.lrdcd ii is.lpious 10 inquire for nntural cause
for tie carth's .xial rotation, Us it once was SO
considered for one to believe in tic fact itself
If tile earth having such I motion; but that
time belongs 10 tic infancy Of science, and ca-
lyEtv1cl minds Of tue present agc inquire for
IL natural cause Of every phenomenon, however
strange and marvellous. They may, therefore.
very naturally suck tn account nationally and
upon natural principles for So common and
simple ,l1in;: tc III srnal motion Of the
earth.
When this fact Of a general eastward current
Of atmosphere, 1T aud above moderate height,
was first noticed in my hearing, was Ut once
reminded Of tho celebrated La Place Theory ot
trcation and Rotation Of Sular and Planetary
Bodies, which has become SO popular as to
have a prominent place in our textbooks for
common schools, u1rd which may be very briefly
stated by un extract from page IS Of Smiths
School Astronomy, us follows:
lin she beginning all the matter composing
the sun, planets and satellites. was d1'iascd
through space III state Of exceedingly minute
division, the ultimate particles being held nsut-
der by the rcpulsion uf heat. In process Of
linr under the action OF gr1ritatior, the masa
assumed Il round or ylobular shape, aud the
particles tending to the center Of gravity. mo-
.iou Ut ruiatiun III, axis would commence.
The great mass now cuoling und coudensing,
must increase it. rotary u,ntiuu thereby incEcAa-
in the ccntrifu.uyni totce Ut the equator of the
revolving mass, until finally ring Of matter is
aciuaily detached from tle equator. and IL left
revolving III space, by iEr shrlnklns away
from il Of tie interior 1uass If now We
ful1nw this ring of isolated matter, find every
reason to believe that the particles will gradu-
ally coaescc into q giobufnr furU, and IN turn
forn satellites, us # was itacif formed 1t is
unnecessary IL pursue the reasoning further,
for the same laws Which produce one planet
from the equator Of the central rcyolslug muss,
may produce uauy-'
Thus n1ia rotations are attributed to the cir
cumvolution Of the luid masses, in the center
Of which originally the sun and planets respec-
lively formed, and tl14t circu,nvolutlon attribu-
ted to the Sravita1ion Of luid part;clcs to d
common center, Which always necessarily pro
duces circunvolu4ion, as iu tic cascs Of whirl-
winda and whirlpoo]s.
Tho rotation Of tue earth being attributed in
its origin to the circumAuencc Of its constituent
gravi,a,ng luid material, and 4 surrounding
fluid still appearing to flow around the earth in
tic same direction. little faster tLau the mt
>,Ff} I, 1onI4l 4l,,.
ton and draw it around, it seems natural 10
consider that current Of fluid the direct cause
Of the carths present continuous rotation.
If the earth were running like balance wheel,
ty III impetus given it lunE nGes since, it is
reasonable to suppose it, motion would lead
rather than fuilow that Of tile atmosphere
around il, slncr 50 rare nuld would soon lose
its original momentum, and cease to nluyc c1-
cept carried. willie heavy and solid globe
wonld continue ~ rcvolvc with but yery gradual
abatement uf its velocity. IT, therefore, the
main body Ut our atmosphere il moving east
ward faster than the Garth, 50 Us to perform
all entirc revolution III less tlan twentv-four
hours, il is just such force We should sup.
pose would make the earth rero1vc in that d.
lection. 1t might seem that If such current
OF atmosphere moved the earth around, the
latter would exactly keep up with tue force
moving it Us it might also seem that the atu,os-
phcre moving around faster than the earth
uot if we take uta consideration that there arc
aou1c counter-forces, ~ for instance, the trade
winds, which must. in some degree, tend retard
tue eaTtAs eastward rotation.
The phenomenon hare been dwelling upon
suggests to my mind fact in astronomy which,
d. not rtcolleet to have seen remarked upon
BY ANY scientific writer. Ii il this, that by the
established rule for calculating the orbital
velocity Of planet, Ut my given distance from
the sun. one supposed to b. very near the sun.
Within four Or tive millions Of miles, would pass
around the in less tu,- than il takes for the
sun itself to perform. an a1ial revolution, thus
showing TINT the huid surrounding the sun, like
that surrounding the carth. and 1t proportion
ate distance. must probably outruu the iuu1inn
Of the itself. and thus form thcre an east
ward current which would carry i balloon frum
one part to another more easteriy, over the sur
f4cc Of the SUI.
Though think much of such matters and in
quire earnestly for the solution Of nature. mra-
teries by tracing their causes al far backward ~
possible. Il will not say to or toward the divine
cause, tor consider them all divine get feel
ence, the Little knowledge have being only
superficial. When, therefore, venture to sug-
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