The Washington herald., 1922-04-30
ehcHeruAs
Notes
QndConmeUf
SUNDAY, APRIL 80. 1879.
YEARS SUNSHINE WOULD
MELT Ga FEET OF ICE.

YEARS SUNSHINE WOULD
MELT 424 FEET OF ICE.
IL there were a layer of ice tit
feet thick completely surrounding
the sun the suns rays shining on
Il continuously at right angles
only one year could melt Il and
thus give up as many heat units
as the burning OF 100000. .ooo. 900. !.
oo0. .ooo. 100000 tons Of anthracite
coal These are figures announced
by DR.. c. O. Abbot. assistant sec
rotary Of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, as the result Of twenty years
OF observations on the solar con-
slant Of radiation.
Since 1902. about 1000 observs-
| tions Of the suns heat have been
made at eight widely separated
places and the final mean result
has been l.s4 calories per square
sentImeter per minute. This is the
| scientific statement of amount OF
heat that in a year would melt
! the 42I-foot layer OF ice, which IL
lit were around the sun would
weigh 10000. .OOo. .ooo, 900 900, 900, ,ooO,-
600 tons.
This is a measure OF the sums
yearly output Of radiation" said
DIR. Abbot. in presenting his con-
clusions Jointly with F. f. Fowle
and L. ID. Aldrich. 1T can be COM
pared 1000 or 10000 years hence
with the values which prevail
then. IL in the meantime our rec
ords are preserved as faithfully for
posterity as the Babylonian clay
tablets have preserved for US the
records OF the past. How unfor-
tunate that the Babylonians did
not observe the solar constant"
When DIR. Abbots work was be-
gun in 1902 the best instruments
| for observing the solar heat at the
surface Of the earth differed by at
least SO per cent in their indica-
tions and the values OF the suns
heat as Il is outside the atmos-
phere. published in the best text
books. ranged from 1.7s to 40 calo-
/ ries per square centimeter per
! minute. Nothing was known as to
the limits Of the solar variability.
/ Now a large mass Of data on the
fickleness Of the sun has been OBJ
| tained.
"Our observations have shown
that the sun does not vary 50
much as many Of the other stars"
DIR. Abbot said. Its range OF va
ristion within the last twenty
years has apparently not eNc'ede I
il2 per cent On the other hand.
fluctuations from l to per cent
appear to occur frequently at
irregular intervals with irregular
ranges Of variation. For instance.
at the time Of the great sun-spsJ
group Of March %. 1920, a fall Of
solar radiation OF about per cent
occurred. corresponding to the pas
! sage Of the sun spots across the
! center OF the sun. There iS long
period Of solar variation attending
the changes 81 solar activity re-
vealed by sun spots, promipences
and other visible solar phenomena.
so that high values OF solar varia-
tion occur at times OF high solar
activity. The range is about > per
cent for 100 Wolf sun-spOt num-
bers"
Clearly. IL the sun is thus va
riable. the planets which shine by
reflected light must vary CORES
nondingly but not necessarily at
the same instant as the earth. since
the earth and the other planets
may lie I'm different directions in
the heavens as seen from the sun
A few highly accurate observations
Of the brightness Of the planet Sa-
turn. made by Or. GuthniCk. OF the
Berlin BablesberE observatory. have
been compared with the solar oh
servations Of the Smithsonian In
stitution. It is found that ! Der
cent change in the sun appears to
produce per cent change in Sa-
turn, due allowance being made for
the rate Of rotation OF the sun
which carries the rays Of variable
intensity around at the rate OF one
revolution in about twenty-seven
days"
"A connection between the varia-
tion Of the suns heat and weather
here on earth has been worked out
by the Weather Bureau Of ArCen-
tina, DR.. Abbot announced
Regular forecasts. a week in ad-
vance, are made there based uron
the solar observations Of tn.
smithsonian Institution at Monte
yuma, Chile. telegraphed in from
day to day"