Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-03-28
Air0ver Arctic
Twice as Hot
As Elsewhere
., IN. Asseelatsd Pre.a

~ the Associated Press
It's twice as hot high above
the cold Arctic as 1t Is at equal
attitudes over warmer parts Of
1.-THE earth. scientists have
Learned.
This phenomenon has helped
scientists visualize one Of the
worlds newest discoveries, the
Ivan Allen radiation belts that
hover miles above the earth.
United States space probes
first proved the existence Of
these belts. :
DR.. Robert Jastrow, chief of
the theoretical division of the
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, yesterday de.
scribed the experiments con.
|cerning temperatures and the
radiation belts. instruments on
rockets measured the tempera-
lures.
More than 100 miles above
Churchill, In Canada's North
ern Manitoba. readings of 1000
degrees Fahrenheit have been
measured. This is more than
20 times the heat Of boiling
water.
1000 Degrees Maximum
But, at similar heights above
rocket launching sites at White
Sands. N. Mex. the highest
temperature recorded has been
about 1000 degrees.
DR.. Jastrow explained that
the difference depends on The
shape Of the Van Allen belts.
Instead Of circling the eartl,
uniformly. they tend to bend
toward the earth at the poles.
In fact. they may not cover the
poles at all. he said.
Scientists have described the
shape as similar to the pattern
formed by iron filings when
placed near q magnet. They
arrange themselves far from
the middle Of the magnet but
close to its poles.
The radiation belts arrange
themselves the same way
around the earth. Over the
Arctic and Antarctic. DR.. Jas
trow explained, high energy
particles from the belts APP
parently collide with the few
air molecules at an altitude Of
l25 miles. causing the intense
heat.
But over the rest of the
earth. the Van Allen belts are
too high for their particles to
collide with air molecules. No
extra heat results. That is why
the air lbs miles above New
Mexico is cooler than the ar
LIS miles above the Arctic.
Two Radiation Belts
Space probes and satellites
have shown that there are two
Van Allen radiation belts. One
starts at $500 miles from the
earth and extends to 5000
miles. The second belt, con-
sidered more deadly, has an
5000 to $1,000 mile range.
The significance and effects
Of the belts was discussed here
yesterday at o NASA seminar
by Prof. Thomas Gold OF Har-
ward University, Prof. Eugene
Barker of the University Of
Chicago and Prof. Nicholas
Christofilos Of the University
of California.
DR.. Jastrow said the scien-
lists attending the seminar
agreed that the Van Allen belt
had been misnamed-that they
were not radiation bands at all
but belts of tiny particles.
These particles are .electri-
cally charged" DR.. Jastrow
said.
I'VE know that for certain,
because the intensity of the
particles follows exactly the
configuration of the earth's
magnetic field. That field acts
on charged particles but not on
neutral particles or light rays"
Agree on Origin
DR.. JaStrow said he and DR..
Gold. among others. agreed that
the outer belt Is Of solar origin.
He. added that scientists are
still arguing about the origin
of the much more deadly inner
belt.
Mr.. Christofilos. originator of
last summers high altitude
argus radiation tests. said he
and DR.. S. Fred Singer of the
University Of Maryland believe
that the inner belt is not of
solar origin but is produced by
the impact Of cosmic rays on
the earth's upper atmosphere,
resulting in the emission of
high energy neutrons or neu-
trail atomic nuclei.
/ DR.. Jastrow said scientists
still do not understand why the
two belts Of particles do not
merge. In this connection. he