The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1881-08-17
FEELING THE EARTH MOVE.
Account OF Some CuriOsiiies Of the Wind
by u Philosopher on the Roof

New York Snu.l
"Would you like to feel the motion OF
the earth whirling on its axis just as you
feel the motion of a buggy by the air
driven against your face?'
The man who asked this singular
question looked both sane and serious.
As he spoke he touched with his finger
n small globe, which, with the slight
impulse thus communicated, began to
reyolve smoothly and swiftly within a
brass ring and broad wooden zone, on
which were pictured the odd-looking
figures that represent the twelve signs
of the zodiac. The green painted oceans
and the variously tinted continents on
the little globe blended into n confused
tumble Of color with the motion. Europe
and America the Atlantic and the
Pacific lost their outlines. Greenland
made dark circle about the pole like
streak ON a boys top.
"You know the earth is whirling like
that many times faster than that, said
the philosopher, "and if the atmosphere
did not partake of the same motion there
would be a constant hurricane blowing
at the rate of thousand miles an hour.
Most persons accept the explanation
that the atmosphere reyolyes as fast as
the solid ground without inquiring any
further, an so they lose sight Of one OF
the most startling facts i'll nature. Just
step mp here. "
The reporter followed the philosopher
to the fiat roof of the house.
"Don't you feel that?" asked the phil.
osopher, putting his hand to his
cheek.
II feel wind from the northeast, "
replied the reporter.
"Wcll, that's it, then, said the phil
osophcr. AS the surface of the earth
reyoves eastward, it meets a current Of
air flowing from the north, which has
not yet acquired n velocity of rotation
equal to that of the ground it passes
over. So objects ON the earth ara driven
by the earth's motion through air that
is moving more slowl y to the eastward
than they are. The result is that the
wind which started to blow from the
poles toward the equator, instead OF
moving straight from north to south APP
pears to come from the northeast The
reason of this will he pluin tho minute
You look at Il revolving globe, You see
that close to the poles the revolution Of
the surface is very much slower than at
the equator, just rs a point on the hub
OF wheel moves more slowly than II
point on the tire.
"lou must not, however suppose that
every wind from the northeast is the re-
suit of this curious law. lii fact, in this
latitude it is very difficult to say when
the true wind Of revolution, il may So
speak of it, is felt, because there are SO
many local causes that govern the direc-
ton Of the wind. Nevertheless, when
ever Il current of air starts from the far
north toward the equator, this phenome-
non will he experienced III all the places
it passes over, although it is very often
ohscurcd by the changes OF direction
caused hy ranges Of mountains, great
valleys and local temperatures. But the
curious fact remains that we can feel IT
the wind the whirling Of our globe abou
Its axes. In the tropics this phenomo
non mnniiests itself perfectly III the fa
nous trade winds In fact the west an,
southwest winds that prevail here u larg,
part of the year are the returning trad,
winds. In this case the air, moving
from the equator, where the revolution
is fastest toward the poles where it is
slowest, has, as it advances, westward
motion greater than that of the surface
over which it passes. SO marked is the
prevalence of this wind that sailors call
it down hill from here to England ON
account of the easy sailing with the
wind, So, you see, that, although the
winds alone would never enable us to
detect the fact that the earth reyolves,
yet now that the fnct is known, we see
in them one Of its most striking re
suits.