Evening star., 1951-11-14
New Weather Stations
May Be Launched by Air
Devices Then Are Erected
By Controlled Explosions

Devices Then Are Erected
By Controlled Explosions
By Thomos r. Henry
An air-launched. automatic weather
station which may be dropped from a
plane into inaccessible enemy territory
to provide. complete weather informa-
tion has been developed by j. United
States Bureau of Standards physicists.
After the station has parachuted to
earth, controlled explosive charges are
used to disengage the parachute, raise
the station to an upright operating posi-
ton and erect an antenna. Weather
responsive devices then cause resistance
changes which switch radio transmit
ter off and on at a rate which can
be interpreted at receiving station in
terms of temperature, pressure and
humidity. l.. =. s-.y
Designed in the shape of bomb and
packing its own parachute, the weather
station Is loaded on the bomb rack of
a plane. When it is released over a de-
sired location, the parachute is opened
automatically by line rigged from the
plane. simultaneously an electric clock,
which controls subsequent operations of
the station. Is started.
Landing Sets OF Charge.
The impact of landing sets off a
small explosive charge which disengages
the parachute and prevents the station
being pulled along the ground. Either
Immediately, or after a preset period,
another explosive charge causes the sta
ton to rise to an upright position. This
is done through an arrangement Of six
legs to which springs are attached The
explosive charge operates release which
permits the springs to pull the legs into
position. A third explosive charge ex-
tends an antenna to the height of about
20 feet.
Such station would be adapted to
transmit various kinds of information
out OF enemy territory. but the present
design permits only the transmission Of
weather data. Separate mechanisms
responsive to changes in temperature,
pressure and humidity each cause an
associated resistor to vary At pre-
determined intervals the timing mecha-
niSm turns on the radio transmitter. The
transmitter is so designed that the
emitted radio signal pulses of and on
at rate proportional to the resistance
set up. The station is calibrated before
use by subjecting it to known tempera-
lures, pressures and humidities.
Such station also may be used as a
radio beacon for aircraft. In such a case
the transmitter and the control mech
anlsms are greatly simplified, SO that
either constant or intermittent signal
is sent out.
Sonar" developed to high efficiency
for locating enemy submarines during
the war, has been added to the tool
Kits OF biologists.
BY means of sound echoes they are
determining depths of the earths bed
rock surface below the Sediments which
have been piled upon it through the
ages. -
The United States Geological Survey
recently has reported two examples
where great expense and much time
have been saved by this adoption of a
war instrument. The first was in con-
nection with the proposed project Of
obtaining drinkable water from Lake
Michigan for the city OF Chicago. 1t
involves an $85 million pumping and
publication plant
Among the requirements Is d tunnel
more than five miles long and I6 feet
IN diameter underneath the lake parallel
to the waterfront. This tunnel will be
dug about so feet below the top of the
limestone bedrock to prevent corltamina-
ton OF the water after 1t leaves the
filtration plant.
With the new sonar equipment it has
been found possible not only to deter
mine the depth to the top of the mud
and gravel which constitute the bottom
OF the lake but to measure the depth of
these to the bedrock itself. The dis
tance to various layers is computed au-
tomatically.
Hidden Valleys Found.
Thus far the Geological Survey scien-
lists have located two hidden valleys in
this bedrock. both buried under mud
and silt. One was 130 feet deep and
two miles long. Another was 80 feet
deep and has been traced for four miles
under the lake. This means that it
would be necessary to dig the tunnel
at much greater depths than had been
contemplated. Hitherto, it would have
been possible to get this information
only by many expensive rock borings.
The second example was in connec-
ton with recent survey of the bottom
of the Bay of Fundy. Some years ago
serious consideration was given to a
project for Harvesting the high tides in
this area to produce electric power. Ex-
ploratory drilling by army engineers re-
vea1ed such thickness of recent sedi-
ments that the project was given up as
impractical. Recently it has been re-
vived. 1t was estimated that the neces-
sary soundings would cost about 81 mil
lion and require several months. With
sonar this cost was cut to $50, 900 and
the job was accomplished in a few
weeks.
The soundings were made of East
port, Me-. where very difficult conditions
exist in the tremendous range of tides
and the presence of treacherous whirl-
pools. Altogether. A soundings were
made. The findings were that nearly
two-thirds Of the area under the bay
consisted of solid rock. The great
depths Of sediment. it developed. were
only where the engineers had drilled.
Their results had given quite false