The farmer and mechanic., 1911-06-13
WEATHER BUREAUS ARE
TAKING THE TEMPERATURE
OF THE SUN, BY GEORGE!
VI METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTIONS
OF THE WORLD BUSY AT THE.
JOB-THEY HAVE A MUTI Al
AGREEMENT TO DO THE WORK
-"LIGHT LITERATURE'' On \
BRIGHT SUBJECT
By FREDERICK }. Haskell.


The weather bureau at Washington
and nearly all of the other meteriolOg-
ical institutions of the world are now
engaged in taking observations OF the
temperature Of the sun, with a view
to determining what changes take
place in the radiation Of heat from
that lumnary. Many years ago Pro
fessor Samuel p. Langley, OF the
Smithsonian Institution, having OBJ
served that the appearance Of spots on
the sun nearly always cOincided with
weather diStur Dances, came to the con-
clusiOn that perhaps the law of the
weather might be based upon changes
in the amount OF heat given on ny
the sun from day to day. With this
opinion as a working basis astronom-
ers and meteorOlOgistS all over the
world have become interested in the
matter, and have resOrted to all sorts
of plans to Wrest this secret from the
sun.
1t is believed that the changes in
radiation follow certain movements 0f
the sun. and that they recur at certain
well defined periods. just as the sea
sons change on earth. How long the
periods are is not known, neither has
anyone yet discovered what brings
them about. There seems to have been
some fOregieams Of this new Idea OF
weather prediction in the iong-range
forecasts of the past. Although mod
ern meteorology has decried the art
Of the long range forecasters. mil
lions of people still believe in the VERT
ty Of the weather predictions OF their
old fashioned almanacs.
The meteorological institutions OF
the world have entered into sort OF
agreement to record upon every favor
able day the radiation Of the sun and
the related polarization Of sky hfe.
oH>C
the different institutions, and when
they have been taken for a long term
OF years and are compared with the
weather records Of those years. 1t IS
hopd that weather forecasting at long
range will become a scientific reality.
The effect Of such discovery upon
the civilization OF the world would
perhaps be greater than any other DIS
covery made in the entire history OF
| the human race Blessed with the
| ability accurately to forecast the
| weather, no farmer would need TO
feel the pinch of destructive
| drought With an unusually dry sea
| son ahead OF him he would need only
| to plant such crops as required little
| moisture and dry farming would be
| come a national institution. On the
| other hand, if a very wet season were
! in prospect he would chOONa OIy
| such crops as needed much moisture
/ for their most successful growth. This
| effect of such a discovery would be
| no less important to men In other
| avenues of life than to the farmer
The individual could plan his vacation
! his fishing trip, and all other AFFAIRS
| dependent upon the weather, far IN
| advance assured that there would pc
no disa ppointment thereafter
The instrument used by the weather
bureau for the ascertaining Of the
changes in radiation is known as the
| pyrheliometer Coupled With an cleo
| tricaI resistance therm Ometer 1t Is SO
sensitive to heat that it can register
| a difference in the temperature mil
| lions of times more minute than may
/ be recognized by the average person
| The pyrheliometer is made Of two
| blackened discs fitted on rod. pull
| lev fashion, an dimmersed In water
| The suns rays are concentrated on
! these rises, and the amount of radl-
alton is determined by the varying
| temperature of the water at the Glf-
| ferent exposures.
The pyrheliomter differs radically
| from the instrument used by the AS
| trophysical Observatory in the lnVes-
tigation it is making to the same end.
This instrument is known as the bolo-
meter. 1t was invented by rofessol
Langley and improved by Professor
| Abbott who is now in charge OF the
| Astrophysical Observatory. As I'M
| proved this instrument is capable OF
| recognizing a difference Of tempera-
ture up to the hundredth millionth
part Of a degree. One of its essen
| tials is the thread Of a SPIDERS web
| one hundred times more delicate than
any thread ever spun by human hand.
the gauze of a fiy's wing is another
item called for in it's construction. to
| which is pasted a mirror as small as
| pin-head but as perfectly ground
as a fifty thousand dollar reflector.
The ray whose heat is to be measured
| is thrown into the tiny reflector ana
| from that upon thread Of spun
| glass. The general principle Of the
| boiometer is the same as that of the
little solar motors one sees in many