Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-01-09


up several weeks or several months.
Is 1t possible for 1t to stop rotating
with the earth? Nj. a. r. and
c. X. r.
The. atmosphere, as a whole, ro-
tates with the earth; consequently
any body suspended in the atmos-
phere must share in the same rota-
ton. II the earth turned inside the
atmosphere while the latter re-
manned fixed around it like a shell
we would be swept off our feet by
constant westward blowing hurri-
cane, which, in the latitude of New
York would have a speed of about
$50 miles an hour.
The blue sea, now sparkling so
merrily in the sunshine as 1t sends
its little white-capped breakers to
play on the sandy beaches, with
hollow roaring that makes the chill
dren shout back in delight, would,
II the atmosphere suddenly stopped
turning with the earth, be hurled
against the crumbling shores like
battering ram, and mighty pillows
would engulf every city on the At
lantic seaboard.
In that case. an aeronaut who had
been lowering in u noon calm over
New York would see the city shoot
away eastward from beneath his
feet, to disappear in n few minutes
over the eastern horizon, while fields,
hills, valleys, cities and mountains
would stream after it so swiftly that
they would seem to be drawn out
into quivering lines. In an hour the
fields and towns of Illinois, south of
Chicago, would be speedily madly
below him; in two hours he would
see the plains of Kansas flowing like
q yellow, tempest-driven sea; within
the third hour the Rocky Mountains
would sweep their long chain, like
q Skipping-rope, beneath his feet;
then the white peaks of the Sierra
Nevada would flash like the racing
wave tops looked down upon from
the bridge of a storm stressed liner,
while. in less than four hours, the
smooth curve of the Pacific would
rise to round the horizon in the
west. and the spinning ball Of the
world would fall asleep" like a
top. with the steadiness of its mo-
ton.
Perhaps the observer would
ascribe the motion to himself. al
though, if we suppose all friction
with the earth eliminated, the air
around him would be entirely un-
disturbed, and when, in twenty four
hours, he saw New York shooting
past again, he might think that he
had gone around the earth, instead
of the earth having turned around
under him.
But while it is true that up to any
| height to which an aeronaut could
ascend the atmosphere rotates with
the earth from west to east at the
same angular rate, yet within the
atmosphere itself there are motions
| Independent of the rotation as a
whole. Winds and currents, caused
| by heating of the air and by in
equalities of pressure, set up motion
| in all directions, including vertical
or up and down.
In consequence, a balloon cannot
remain directly over its point OF
ascension, being certain sooner or
| later to encounter a current of air
/ moving one way or another. But II
| this and similar causes of move
ment are neglected, it would be
| theoretically possible for balloon
| TO ascend radially from a point on
/ the earth and to remain for an in
| definite time without changing its
| position with reference to the point
! beneath, so that when it descended
it would alight at the same place
! from which it had started.
One tendency to move out of the
original radial line of ascent that
a balloon would have, independent
| of wind would be due to the great
er actual (not angular) velocity OF
| the upper parts of the atmosphere
In order to keep in line radially
| it is evident that particle high uE
/ in the air must travel a greater dis
tance in a given time than a particle
at the surface of the earth. This
being the case, the balloon, starting
to ascend while endowed only with
the rotational velocity of the earth's
surface. would, as it rose, continu-
ally find itself tending to drop be-
hind the surrounding air particles
| in eastward motion. Owing to in
ertia, the air particles could not in
stantly impart their superior speed
| to the balloon. But the practical
effect of this would be Slight.
There is another thing. however
which puts different aspect on the
matter when we consider what
would happen to a balloon capable
of ascending to very great heights
A somewhat surprising discovery OF
recent years is that at height
which varies with the latitude, be-
! ing about ten and a half miles al
J the equator and only four or five
= miles IN the pOlar regions, tneTe dp-
pears to be a region, or level, OF
! the air where the temperature in
stead of gradually decreasing with
| increase of height, as is the rule be-
| low, remains constant.
Above this level, called the STRAIT
osphere, the atmosphere revolves
! slower than the earth-so much so
| indeed, 1t has been estimated that al
a height of about fifty miles the ro-
rational speed of the air is only Sc
per cent. of that of the earth's sur
face. The loss of speed increase:
with elevation above the stratos-
phere, and it is supposed that al
some unknown height the air, OF
what remains of it, does not share
at all in the earth's rotation.
{ However, at elevations like those
! Just spoken of the air is so rare
that it would be inappreciable tC
our senses. and there is no appar.