Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-07


levels and fshed up specimens of plant and
animal life
Plumbing of the Air
THE meteorologist has applied himself as
= siduously to the plumbing of the air. The
thickness of the air that surrounds the earth is
estimated at about fifty miles; but no man has
ever been able to sound the extreme height.
The greatest height to which sounding balloons
have reached is about eighteen miles, less than
half the total distance of the air envelop. But
every year finds deeper soundings and it may
not be long before we shall be able to get be-
yond the extreme thin edge of the atmosphere
The sounding balloons and kites carry auto
matte registering instruments which bring
down accurate records of the temperature
humidity, weight, thinness of the atmosphere
at different elevations, and the direction and
force of the wind.
But the balloons 60 to such heights that in
order to make accurate records 1t is essential to
adopt some ingenious devices. For instance, it
was found impossible to invent an ink that
would not freeze few miles in the upper air.
Meteorologists then adopted smoked glass
for the printing of their automatic records.
This works wonderfully well. and as the changes
in the temperature and moisture occur a little
needle makes marks on the surface. In this
way they have succeeded in getting trustworthy
data of the air from five to fifteen miles over
head.
Getting Samples of Air
RUT it was considered important that we
- should get samples of this upper air to study
To accomplish this an ingenious little device
was constructed and sent up in sounding
balloon. The instrument was set to operate at
a certain altitude, saw ten miles, When the
balloon reached that height the thermometer
would go to certain point below zero, and
when this was reached the mercury would COM
plete an electrical circuit arranged on the in
strument This would release a spring and a
f11I och, 81, a<xIo
end of closed tube that had previously been
exhausted of all air. Immediately the outside
air would rush in to fill the vacuum. Then the
pressure of the air would complete another
circuit and would heat a coil of platinum
wire wound round the broken edges of the
tube. This would fuse the glass and COM
pletely inclose the air thus captured. When
the instrument was brought down with the
balloon, the air thus taken at five ten miles
above could be examined at leisure.
From these many experiments it has been
learned that there three great strata of air,
each one more or less distinct The lowest
which surrounds and extends only two or
three miles from the earth. IS the dcnsest and
nearly always in uncertain processes of change
in temperature, in wind velocity IN moisture
and in pressure 1t is rarely quiet on all locali-
ties at once. 1t seems to be in state Of con-
slant agitation, much the surface of the
ocean is at all seasons.
Weather forecasting to-day consists chiefly
sequently it is not SO thorough as it should be-
Above this first layer is another, which be-
gins at about two miles and extends up to six
seven. This layer is very cold dry, and
moving always in one direction. 1t is caused
by the revolution of the earth on its axis The
upper part of this layer blows with fearful
velocity 1t is really violent hurricane sweep
ing at all times round the earth. The lower
edge IS sometimes affected by the capricious
lower stratum. and local disturbances are
thus caused. But the upper part of the layer
moves grandly and steadily onward without
apparently being affected by our own tenn
pestuous and tickle earth weather. The tenn
perature of this second layer of air drops at
times as low one hundred and sixty-seven
DEGREES below freezing point.
The third layer of air, Just above the hur-
ricane district is vast region of calm. 1t