Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, 1907-08-15

less than ten miles per hour Il is
necessary to employ captive balloons.
To attain great heights small free rub
Der balloons of two or three cubic
yards capacity, called pilot balloons,
are employed. The instrument car
ried by the kites and balloons vary
in weight from one and one-half to
three or four pounds and record varia-
tons in the temperature, the pressure.
the humidity of the air, and the wind
velocity.
The balloons are filed with hydro
gen gas In order to secure the great
est lifting power This necessltates
the use of special apparatus for the
manufacture of hydrogen. At the
Mount Weather Research observatory
strong electric current is passed
through water, breaking up the liquid
into its constituent elements of hydro
gen and oxygen These gases are then
collected and stored In appropriate
tanks for future use as occasion may
require.
AS the small pilot balloons carry up
their instruments to heights of many
miles, where the prevailing tempera-
lures are at all times very low (some-
times exceeding 100 degrees Fahren-
heit below zero), It Is necessary to
test the accuracy of the thermograps
at these low points. For this purpose
the observatory is equipped with a
plant for the manufacture of liquid air,
l. - tnh kk1 the t,.tty, nat
may be tested to the lowest points
likely to be reached at great eleva-
tons.
In the near future these small rub
Der pilot balloons, carrying with them
to elevations of 10000 to $4,000 feet
referred to, will be liberated simulta-
neous at 20 to 80 weather bureau sta
lions surrounding typical storm cen
| tiers. Observations obtained in this
| manner at various elevations when
| compared with the records made at
the same time at the surface of the
earth will doubtless throw much new
light upon the mechanism of storms,
cold waves, etc., and give to meteorolo-
gists q better understanding of the
general circulation of the atmosphere.
So important to the study of the sun
Is q continuous record of the magnetic
variations that one OF the first steps
In the establishment OF the observa-
tory was the installation of a magnetic
plant consisting of the best modern
instruments for the direct observation
~ %, he t{pn trnt pf
the variations In the magnetism of the
earth. The standard observatory in
struments, both for continuous regis
tration and direct measurement, are of
the type devised by Wild for the model
magnetic observatory at Pavlovsk,
Russia. These are supplemented by
set OF Eschenhagen magnetographs,
the extreme sensitiveness of which
peculiarly fits them for recording
minute fluctuations of the earth's mag
netic force.
The principal application of the re-
suits of the observations will be to
supplement the direct observations OF
the sun, and thus to carry on the rec
ord of the solar activity continuously
day and night In all conditions OF
weather. Researches will also be car
ried on to determine the existence and
measure the extent of probable direct
relations between meteorological dis
| turbances and magnetic variations.
The magnetic records will also be spe-
cially studied in conjunction with the
results of observations of the radioac-
| tivity and the electrical condition OF
| the air.
The physical laboratory is not yet
| completed, and consequently 1t has not
| been possible to undertake investiga-
| tons here in experimental physics.
However, through the kindness of the
| authorities of the University of Vir-
ginia good deal of spectroscopic work
has been done at that institution.
Some of the results have been puk-
lished in the Astrophysical Journal,
and there are many data yet on hand
to be worked up at the earliest oppor-
tunity. An investigation, by the aid OF
large telescope, of the causes and
meteorological relations of the scintil-
lation of stars is In progress at the
University of Virginia along lines sug-
gested by one of the Mount Weather
officials. A special photometer has
been devised for the purpose of meas
uring the relative densities OF clouds,
particularly when the entire sky is
covered. AS soon as the laboratory is
completed and equipped Investigations
will be begun on atmospheric electric
ity, its origin, distribution, and laws.
the causes and nature of precipitation
heat and light absorption, and other
physical phenomena Of Importance to
the meteorological.
WILLIS L. MOORE,
Chief Weather Bureau Department.