Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-08-08
THE USE OF DUST.
MISSOURI.

It's ZOE Of DUST.
An Important Factor I'm tn.
man Comfort.
those who have not investigated
the matter are apt to be surprised
when they are told that dust is a verv
important factor in our comfortah HE
existence So useful is it. indeed. that
we could not very we'll do without it.
and this thought should console those
VINO complain about the dustiness of
the streets and highways in summer.
In the first place. we owe the beau
tlful blue of the armament to dust.
were 1t not for its existence, the
heaven would be blacker than we see
1t on nights when the moon is hid be-
hind cloud. The glowing sun would
during the day shine sharply on this
black background, and the surface of
the earth would be characterized by
the same sharp contrast of intense
light and deep shadow. The moon and
stars would, be visible by day, and they
alone would not suffice to subdue the
sharp contrast.
When we look at the moon through
the telescope we ascertain how the
earth would look were there no dust,
for there is no atmosphere about the
moon, and consequently no dust is sus-
pended in the air
Our soft, uniformly diffused dav-
light, for which our eyes are specially
adapted, is due to the dust. and the
beauty OF the landscape. as can readily
be understood, is also due in no small
part to the same despised article.
H- A.
dust makes the whole vault of heaven
light, we have not told why it is chiefly
the blue rays of the sunlight that are
reflected, and the green. yellow and
red are at the same time only to a
small extent. The size of the dus,
particles has much to do with this mat
ter. The air currents only bear the
finest particles to every stratum, and
these fine particles which are of CHIEF
interest in this connection.
The ether waves which constitute
the essence of the mechanism of light
are microscopically small, although
they vary in their smallness. Many OF
the fine particles of dust are large
enough to reflect the extremely short
blue ether waves, but fewer are
capable of rejecting the vel.
low and green waves, while
still fewer are large enough to
influence the long, red, ethereal
waves Consequently. the long red
waves pass through the greater ma
ing reflected, while the shorter blue
waves are intercepted and diffused at
every point, and hence become visible.
= L.. l. H.
finest dust, but the heavens them.
selves appear blue to our eyes.
This blue sky is most often found in
the country. and city residents will
naturally seek to know why it is that
the sky in their vicinity has whitish
or grayish appearance. This is be-
cause the particles have united, and
are able to reflect the light in its en-
tirety. When there are a large num-
Der of large, coarse dust particles in
the air, as is the case in the city, the
sky has whitish tinge. The sky is
bluest on the mountainous, because
there the air is so rari6ed as to sup
port only the finest dust particles.
The sky would be almost black at a
great height if there were no dust
particles in supervision AS we turn
our eyes to the lower strata of the air
towards the horizon, we see it grow
pale.
The blue skies of Italy and the trop-
les are famous to all travellers or read
ers of books of travel. Why is it that
the skies there are bluer? Are the
dust particles finer? The answer is,
Yes" Not that the dust that rises
= Il.
the dust is soon saturated with water
vapor. which makes them coarser.
The vapor retains its watery charac-
ter, and does not condense on the float.
ing dust. 1t is not condensed into
clouds until it reaches much more
lofty, and hence colder regions.
To dust, then, we owe our fogs,
clouds, rain, snow, delightful sunsets
and the cerulean sky. Did it not exist,
the only objects upon which the vapor
could condense would be the face of
the earth itself. with the men, ami
mails. houses and trees upon it. All of
these would begin to drip with water
whenever the air was sufficiently cool.
In winter everything would be covered
with crust of ice. Umbrellas would
not prevent us from being constantly
wet, for our clothes would become
saturated with the water condensed
from the vapor which had fallen upon
u.s.
Were we to fly indoors we could not
escape it, as the vapor-laden atmos-
phere would follow US, and condense
upon the walls of our rooms and the
furniture of our houses.
Were there no dust, our world, in
short. would be a very different one.
1t is only recently that scientists
have begun to appreciate the important
part played by the much despised dust
in the economy of nature. This grow
ing interest in it has led them to take
measures to count the numbers of par
;ticles in a given space.
At the surface in London and Paris
it has been found that cubic cent?
meter, or little less than six hun
-dredths of cubic inch, contains near
Iy quarter of a million of particles of
dust. On the top of the Alps. how
ever, the number to a cubic centimeter
decreases to two hundred particles
sssiolden Days.
As Some Boys Learn 1t.
oil H.,