The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1900-03-21


thunder and lightning are being arti-
fcially reproduced in the course of
some remarkable experiments at the
Elmer Gates Laboratory, at Chevy
Chase, near this city. Prof. Gates,
the famous physicist, who directs this
fascinating work shop, has long been
conducting elaborate researches look
ing to the solution of these cnlgmas
of nature. AS result Of this labor
he has deduccd some surprising the
orics which, in the opinion Of many
learned men, will effect a complete rev
olution in present methods Of weather
forccasting.
Your correspondent, day or two,
was granted the first newspaper inter
view concerning these important dis
covcrics, and was requested to state
that many were made with the assist
ancc Of the late II. a. IIazcn, pro-
fcssor of mctcorology at the Uni
ted States Weather Bureau, whose
death occurred only few weeks
ago, Just as the work was drawing to
close.
THE EARLY EXPERIMENTS
OF the two investigators we're made for
the purpose Of ascertaining nature 8
method Of rain making. The most
widely accepted theory hitherto offer
cd in explanation Of this process as
sumcs that when moist air is carried
from one region above the earth to an
other which is colder, it undcrgocs
condensation and vice versa. Prof.
& atcs and Prof Ilazcn both doubted
that heat and moisture were the sole
factors concerned in storm production.
Prof. Gates had long believed that
electricity played the most important
role in weather making and he set
about to convince his co-laborator that
he was correct.
In the initial experiment large,
fluffy mass Of fleece cotton was sus-
pended from the ceiling Of the labora-
tory by dry silk thread and was
electrically charged by one pole Of
powerful static machine. The other
pole was connected with similar
mass of cotton. AS the two tufts
we're being charged they grew pcrcep-
tibly larger, Brought nearer, they be-
came smaller. When sufficiently near
or sufficiently charged for spark to
pass between them, as lightning
fash passes between two clouds, they
twitched at the moment of discharge.
The two tufts we're aftcrward filled
with smoke puffed into them through
tube. Some Of this smoke was
elected by each at the moment
spark passed. When certain dis
tance apart, the smoke would leave
one of the masses and proceed in q
straight line to the other Thus the
electricity actually carried the vapor
from one to the other. Then steam
was in jected into one tuft and some Of
its moisture was similarly conveyed
to the interior Of the other, as proved
5y an instrument for measuring hu-
snidity. 1t was noticed that although
one piece Of cotton would increase in
volume when first charged with elcc-
tricity, it would begin to shrink as
soon as it induced an opposite
charge in some adjacent mass of mat
ter.
A volume of moisture saturated air
was next enclosed in rubber toy bal
loon, suspended by string. The bal
loon swcllcd when highly charged, but
shrunk when in the presence Of body
charged with opposite electricity.
When q succession Of sparks passed
into the balloon it appeared to take
sudden expiration, then an inspiration
Immediately afterward.
These and other experiments proved
to the satisfaction Of the two invcsti
gators that electrical conditions arc ca
pablc Of increasing and diminishing
the density Of the air.
IN A LATER EXPERIMENT
moist current of air was charged
with negative electricity ns it entered
the laboratory through an open window.
A similar current, from another
source, was charged with positive
electricity. At a distance between the
two inlets and where tie two currents
mingled mist was seen to form. 1t
was this successful attempt at rain
making indoors Nhich is believed to
have solved me problem as to how
Dame Nature herself aggregates the
moisture of the air into mists, rain or