Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-02-02

Diagram by Prof. Lucien Rudaux of France
Showing the Earth and It's Magnetic Field and
How the Cosmic Ray Particles (E) Are Bent
Around to Different Positions to Strike the
Earth from All Sides. Wherever They Hit at
(C) They Create Showers" of Mesotrons and
Other Particles (R) Which Are Detected on
the Surface of the Earth. Some Cosmic Rays
Never Hit the Earth but Spiral Through the
Magnetic Field of the Earth and Pass Off as
in the Upper Right-Hand Corner of the Dia-
gram. At the Magnetic Poles of the Earth
(M) Are Shown the Aurora Borealis. (A) and
OBJ. The General Glow of the Night Sky
Around the Earth Is Marked at IL.
are costly the first cost would be the last.
Even more important. as Professor Comp
ton explained in his interview, the weather
observations with the radiosondes are taken
only once each day. If the upper air masses
change in character - as they easily may
do - the present system of weather detection
may take "a hours TO find this out
In contrast, a cosmic ray meter works
continuously around the clock. week in and
week out. If serious changes in air masses
occur the cOsmic ray meter might be able
to detect them from u to "a hours faster.
The weather of the United States at least
east of the Rocky Mountains is formed by a
continuous battle" between great masses of
dlI WHICH one NdIl lilIlh VI dS NdpOIOuS
armies"
One air-mass army" has it's headquarters
and base in the cold polar regions, over
northern Canada Greenland and the Arctic
icepack. This cold, dry and heavy air moves
southwark.
At the same time another atmosphere
army of tropical origin begins moving north.
This tropical air - moist. warm and lighter
than the polar air 49, has its base in the,
CHE Of
The battle-ground" of these aerial armies
is over the United States above the Mississippi
River valley the Central Plains states and
the Great Lakes region.
Sometimes the cold polar air rides along
on the surface of the earth and the tropical
air is forced upward. Then there comes a
cold snap. in Winter, or a~cool spell in Summer.
Or the warm, moist tropical air may tap
the polar air overhead and there is humid,
rainy weather in the Summer or warm spells
in the Winter.
As may be imagined however. conditions
are seldom so simple as this. The polar and
tropical air intermingle and make comp-
Gated mixtures in layers. Almost infinite
variety Of conditions may occur All of them
give their little twist to- local weather.
The small diagram on this page shows one
of the trickiest situations which can be solved
by the new forecasting system. The weather
is moving from left to right in the diagram.
and the weather man at the observing station
by the old forecasting system merely
knows that scool air has passed and that a
cold 'front.' has arrived at his station. His
forecast, therefore, probably is fair and
colder tomorrow" The weather man has no
knowledge of the warm air trapped overhead
which will probably bring rain. What hap
pens is easy to imagine. The Weather Bureau
forecasts fair and colder and-it rains.
The public cusses the Weather Bureau. and
the Weather Bureau cusses the old-fashioned
system. With the new air-mass analysis such
erroneous forecasts are happening much more
rarely than ever before.
The practical use of cosmic rays to help
we'd