Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1915-01-16

''''H from the Latin "SpirituS.
breath; while the Greek word for
spirit Cruach means both wind" and
spirit and is frequently translated
the spirit Of the Lord" Our English
wind comes from the root wa, to
blow and was originally the present
partlciple of the verb with the sense
Of blowing"
Etymologically, therefore, there is
an interesting connection between the
breath Of the living creature. the spir-
it Of the Lord, and the familiar phe-
nomenon of wind, a relationship most
suggestive when reading The Lord
God breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life" "a sound from heaven
as Of rushing mighty wind" at Pen
tecOst, "the wind of the Lord" and
the remarkable passage in Eek. 27:9:
Come from the four winds, o breath,
and breathe upon these slain, that
they may live"
What is this mighty force? Mere
ly air in movement" replies the ply
sicist; and he starts explaining the
difference between still, dead air and
air In motion, and dwells on the fact
OF the movement being undiscerned by
the eye, though its effects are visible
through the pressure 1t exerts upon
every object that lies in its path. We
compare the ordinary pressure Of the
air per square inch OF surface at the
sea level 1473 lb) with the tremen-
dous pressure of the wind blowing
hurricane at 90 miles an hour the
kindly pressure 1t exerts upon our
bodies to prevent them from dropping
off the earth, and the pressure it ex-
erts inside a soap bubble as well as
outside 1t. thus making possible one Of
the daintiest nature toys imaginable.
Add a little pressure to the air out
side, blow upon the bubble. and the
our eyes.
How is air set in motion? Briefly.
the normal pressure Of air is disturbed
directly one part is heated more than
another, for heat causes air to expand
and rise. In doing so 1t leaves a space
into which the cooler surrounding air
presses. This, then, is the key to
wind: difference of pressure in ad
joining parts of a stratum of air, the
result of inequality of temperature.
But in determining wind movements
certain conditions have to be consid-
cred. For instance, there is proximity
to land or sea, for the air over land
heats more rapidly than that over wa
ter. The presence of water vapor in
fuences the creation of wind, since
the warm air. which alone can hold
water vapor, has a pressure much
lighter than that of dry. cold air. The
sun. In it's apparent Journeys north
and south, produces seasonal varia-
tions in heating which much affect the
winds And, as is we'll known, the
greater tho height above sea level,
the less the pressure of superincum-
bent air, and the less the heat. Evil
IDENTIFY these conditions must affect
the nature, direction and constancy of
the movement of the air.
So important is wind in influencing
the activities OF man and the habita-
bility Of any portion of the earth. that
a special department of physics. me-
teorology, is concerned with it and
the allied study of weather.
The atmosphere. as the medium for
the conveyance of sound waves, cleo
trio currents and aircraft. demands
increasingly profound understanding
in order to master it. And in face of
the marvels revealed in recent years,
we are quite prepared to listen to