Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-08-27

THE tremendous explosion OF dyna.
mite. shrapncl and other var
munitions which recently SHOOK
New York and surrounding cities to their
foundations was remarkable not only Tor
the enormous amount OF damage 10 prup.
erty and the miraculousy small loss Of
life. but also for the curious way in
which il made its effect felt over a
radius OF many miles.
One OF the most extraordinary OF the
explosions many eccentricities was the
difficulty which the ear found in locating
il with any degree % accuracy. no matter
how near TO the disaster listener was
or how far away. Each Of the earth.
shaking blasts sounded as IL it was Just
around The corner or in ones own back.
yard
1.nt:l iaa mighty glare OF the flames
Thicl followed began 70 light I'D the
heavens. the police in Brooslyn. for in.
stance. we're sure that the explosion vas
In one o. ne suo7ays only few blocks
away. frightened men and women along
Broadway and Fifth avenue were sure i,
was Just outside the doors OF their no.
tells. while persons way M in Wes,cbcs.
ter County thirty or forty miles from
the peninsula where the barscs and
warehouses; full OF explosives were blow.
ing up. We're positive that it was equally
close al hand.
Twenty miles away man leapel
from his bed and shouted to his wife:
Get up. The aamppQst has fallen down"
Il was tall -D6.st .Upiioling large lamp
and me natural explanation OF the
crash,
Another surprising effect Of the OK.
poison was the way II spent its force on
Plate glass and other windows The win
do"s which it shattered usually fcn
outward into the street instead o, in
ward. as one would expect from a blast
coming from the outside And more sur.
prisins Still was the way that the
iorce OF the explosion zigzagged about
from one side Of the street. and from ono
moor or building to the other, smashing
some windows TO bits and leaving others
OF the same size and strength OF glass
unframed
On some streets in downtown New
ioFK almost every pane OF glass on one
slde OF the street was shattered while
vi me other SIDE not a pane was even
cracked. In the same way the windows
on one floor OF a skyscrapcr remained in
iact while those on the floors above and
below were badly damaged
iheSe ana other ccCcntri" WAYS in
wnlch the force OF the explosion spent
'sti! stem nara 10 understand but
satisfactory explanation for each and
every one OF them can be found in a few
weilesnbished scientific principles re-
Garding the behavior OF air curreots
SOUND waves ana shadows. echoes. etc
III me hTst place. ii must he under.
stood that there were no air currents
proper caused b. the explosion cxcrn,
at very short distance away the
Only thing that reached New YorI, and
inc other cities affected from the con.
cnSsion itself was an enormous sound
wave This sound wave shook the air
BACKWARD and forward ,iolcntly through
ie" i"ct but il did NOT carry air win
II through and over New York
But air is IA 'uid and can inns corrv
wave motion. If you shove one mar, ~
you create wave which travels on.
ward getting less and less violent aq /,
spreads over a greater area 'rho W.,
renee OF wave is determined by ir
amplitude. Just as the violence ~
water wave is determined by ills bcfpb,
so mat OF sound wave is Jc,cr,ri,,,j
oy the thickness Of the conprosscd air
caused by the explosion before mo
rareisction begins. Let Us then 500 o.,
actiy what the explosion started tovara
the city and how il could cause such curi.
GUS effects.
A sound wave travels radial)y from
TIE source In every dircction-that is.