Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1922-07-28
RAIN DRIES THE AIR,
SCIENTIST TEACHES
Moro Water Goes Up Than
Comes Down, One Of Many
Paradoxes.

Washington, July ia rainstorm
dries the air, more goes up than comes
down, as the sun sets the air grows
warmer; the hotter the sun grows the
colder the earth becomes; the sun rises
/ before it il up and sets after IL is down.
These statements sound like fairy
tale, but they are oil true DIR. w.
j. Humphreys, quoted in the annual
report Of the Smithsonian Institution
which has Just been made public, en-
plains all Of them. They are well
known 10 scientists u not TO laytnen.
As everyone knows, Dr. Humph--
reya remarks, water evaporntes and
is taken up in the air "a yapor. This
action is continuous all over the earth
and the atmosphere would soon become
very soPpy il II weren't dried out. Ram
is the collection, or condeDsatlo u ana
precipitation Of these moisture particles
consequently, the more It rains The
less water there is left IN the atno-
sphere, or the dryer the cir becomes.
Second Paradox.
The second Of DIR. Humphreys
peradoxes seems fatty 10 contradict
the old saying whatever goes up
must come down" However, az The
writer expresses IT, vertical circula-
ton in the atmosphere IL only gravl-
rational action, consisting in the sink
ing Of relatively cold and therefore
dense air, and rising Of warm and light
; mir. Contracted air descends, expanded
air ascends. Therefore, mass for mass,
the volume OF ascending air is always
| larger than that descending.
In terms OF mass, also, DR.. Hum
: phreys says, descending air Is less
{ than ascending, for air while rising
contains immense quantities OF water
in suspension, which does not return
to earth with that air but as rain
a hail or snow. The air that rlses from
:, the land surface is greater IN mas
4 by OF least 20,0O0,00 tons per second
= the measure Of world precipitation
a than that which descends. he says.
. The third paradox is merely wa
q, Of stating that the warinest part of tn
= dav is not at noon, when the sun is q
I" meridian or overhead and should seen
- ingly be pouring down greater heat, bu
y several hours later in the afternoon
u That is because the surface OF the cart
and the lower layers of air continue
y absorb moro hent from the upper LAY
ers for some time after the latter hay
y been receiving the maximum amour
10 of heat radiation from the sun.
w While II u not yet universally coi
y coded that the next puzzler, the ho
> ter the sun the colder the earth
81 really IL true, DIR. Humphreys stat
'e the evidence in favor Of IL is alread
TX very strong There are several e.
"a plantations offered The first Is thu
In increased radiation from the sun caus.
be earth's air currents 10 flow more rapid.
"a bringing down a greater quantity {
ID cooler sir from high ATTITUDES
ID lower He rejects this explanation
however.
The temperature Of the sun itSe
'r varies, and sun spots are eruption
n caused By heat activity. II is known
ts he continues, that carth's tempcrotur
Ia varies with spot activity; that tn
N more spots there are on the sun tn
p cooler the earth's temperature become'
l. and yico versa. Also, that the sun
g. corona IL in large measure only 3
m much dust, must Interfere with passag
L. of radiation through it. Hence: Hottie
s. sun--inore spots; more spots-denst
hi corona; denser corona-less radiatio
e. received on the earth and warmer elima'
% enSues