Daily Kennebec journal., 1911-02-27
KIT ES.

In l749. DIR. Alexander Wilson and
Thomas Melville raised into the clouds
thermometers attached TO kites.
Three years later, Franklin. at Phila-
delphia, collected the electricity of
thunder-cloud by means Of n kite.
In 1888, Douglas Archibald. in Eng
land, fastened thermometers to the
kite wire, and so registered the wind
movement at various elevations up
to 1909 feet.
In 1885, Alexander Made repeated
Franklin's experiment, using, in ad-
dition, en- electrometer. In 1889 and
1892, he measured, simultaneously the
electric potential at the base and sum-
nit of Blue Hill. Mass. and. with
kites as collectors, at several hundred
feet above the hill top.
Eddy. of Bayonne. y. j., in 1890,
used an ordinary kite to raise ther-
mometers, out soon discarded this for
a kite resembling the Java kite. and
which having convex surface eX-
posed TO .he wind, enabled the tail
to be dispensed with. In August. 1894,
Eddy, at Blue Hill. sent up a ther-
mograph 1900 feet above the summit
ord of temperature by kite. Later,
the records obtained from the meteo-
r1graph included data relating to
barcmetric pressure, temperature. hu-
midity and wind velocity.
The Eddy or Malay kite was soon
superseded by the cellular or box
kite, invented by Lawrence Hargrave
of sydney, New South Wales. These
kites generally have two rectangular
cells covered with nainsook cloth ex-
ccpt at the top and bottom. and one
is secured above the other by four or
more sticks. Some of the kites stand
Q feet high, have 20 square feet OF lift
ing surface, and weigh only eleven
pounds. The kites are flown singly
or in tandem. Steel piano wFe is
used instead of cord. and as much as
20 600 feet is coilcd around q drum
driven by steam power. By this
means, kites have raised meteoro-
raphs TO attitudes of over three miles
The relative humidity of the atmos-
nhere as a rule varies inversely with
the temperature. AS night approaches
ii increases near the ground Dut di-
minishes at an altitude OF 5000 1eet
Kite records give Information OF com
ing weather changes. which are iirs'
felt in the upper air.
To facilitate weather forecasts. the
United States Weather Bureau has
equipped number. of observing sta
tions with kite appliances to obtain
daily synoptic data at a height of a
mile in the free air. Many of the
meteorological bureaus in Europe have
organized systematic kite flights.
A recent development of kites has
been the r;ulticellular tetrahedral kite
| of Frof. Alex. Graham Bell. which
has shown great lifting power
Military kites are chiefly Of two
kinds. A small one is used to carry
a camera for photographing a fort OF
| intrenched lines from above. the
| shutter being worked by electric
| wire or by clockwork. A larger kite
or preferably several kites coupled to-
| gether. are used to lift man up te
say, from so to 100 feet or more for the
purposes Of accommodating. The en-.
tire apparatus is cheaper, lighter ir
weight and more expeditions than q
balloon. For military purposes, Lieut.
| Wise of the United States Army. ir
1897, devised kite which successfully
carried him 80 feet into the air. -T;a
hin 1918, Sol tiCodyo {Duffaio Bill
iiAthevia .iIni5t ytn san axrabgenlent o.
gisr9fl,i TSSGE+.