Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1901-06-20
WEATHER.
MANY MEN ARE WORKING TO
ATTAIN THAT END.
Some Attempts Recently Made at In
f1uencing the Elements Have Been
Successful - Large Consumption of
Coal May Produce More Showers.

Involuntary influence exists without
doubt; it is exercised, for Instance, by
deforestation and by the resulting al
iteration of conditions of soil, which
modifies the flowing of streams and in
creases foundations; and also by the
development Of industrial activity, as
Russell has shown in the case of Lon
don fogs, which augment considerably
with increased consumption Of coal.
The considerable increase Of the num-
Der of thunderstOrms, which has dOu-
bled since 1870, leads US to believe that
In this case also there is an effect due,
In part, at least, to industrial activity;
for 1t is difficult to attribute an increase
so considerable to the sole action of
sun spots. An attempt has been made
to explain the increase in the number
Of storms by the abundant production
OF steam by industrial engines. DR..
Trabert cannot accept this explanation,
for he calculates that the quantity of
steam thus produced in the whole of
Germany would scarcely represent an
evaporation Of O.O025 millimeter Of
water to the square kilometer Q-40OO
inch to the square mile). But it is quite
different with particles of dust scatter
ed in great abundance throughout the
air by the incomplete combustion of n
quantity Of coal equal to 200 Kilograms
to the square kilometer Il, 140 pounds to
the square mile). This considerable in
crease Of atmospheric dust should exer
else an action on the production Of
rain. When moist air passes the state
of saturation, condensation takes place
on particles Of dust. The more there
are Of these, the more drops are form
ed; thus, for given quantity of vapor
condensed, the drops are necessarily
smaller. Now the tension of saturation
on convex surface increases with the
curvature of the surface, that is to say,
with the smallness of the drops. An
increase Of the quantity of dust in the
air will therefore tend to favor the
approximation of the air, and conse-
quently to produce thunderstorms and
abundant rains.
It is much more interesting, however,
to know whether we may voluntarily
act upon the weather. To this kind of
action belong the attempts made sue
cessfully in France, on large scale,
to prevent nocturnal frosts by the pro-
duction Of artificial clouds. But when
we come to the artificial production of
rain, success is much more doubtful,
as all attempts, so far, have proved. In
the production of any phenomenon it
is always question of the equivalent
transformation of one kind Of energy
into another, and, we, mustr inquire
whether the necessary amount Of ener
gy is at our disposal. Now Trabert cal
culates that to bring to saturation
cubic kilometer (oRe quarter cubic
mile) of air at 40 per cent relative hui
nudity requires no less than 400 kilo
grammeters of work 10000 foot
pounds). This scarcely allows us to
think of the possibility of artificial con-
densation. Such thing would appear
to be possible only if the conditions
necessary to condensation already ex-
listed, and if we had only to put latent
forces into action. Finally, to this
voluntary action on the weather be-
longs the method, used in the Austrian
Alps since the time of the Emperor
Joseph H., of making numerous explo-
sions to ward off a hailstorm, a process
that, az is well known, has been devel-
oped and systematized by NJ. Steger
at Wandisch- FeistritZ, in Southern
Syria, with great success.-Cosmos
Paris)