THE ROMANCE OF SCIENCE.

SOUNDING
THE OCEAN OF AIR

BEING SIX LECTURES

DELIVERED BEFORE THE LOWELL INSTITUTE OF BOSTON
IN DECEMBER 1898

A. LAWRENCE ROTCH, S.B., A.M.,

DIRECTOR OF THE BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY,
MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., AND MEMBER
OF THE INTERNATIONAL CLOUD AND AERONAUTICAL COMMITTEES.

PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE GENERAL
LITERATURE COMMITTEE.

LONDON:
SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE,
NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, W.C.; 43, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, E.C.

Brighton: 129, North Street.

New York: E. & J. B. YOUNG & CO.

1900

This little Book is gratefully Dedicated

TO

The late AUGUSTUS LOWELL, Esq.

OF

BOSTON, U.S.A.

WHO, AS TRUSTEE OF THE LOWELL INSTITUTE,
ENABLED SCIENTIFIC MEN OF TWO CONTINENTS TO
PRESENT THE RESULTS OF THEIR INVESTIGATIONS
TO THE PUBLIC

CORRIGENDA

Page 50, line 11, for "isolation" read "insolation."

Page 59, line 21, before "direction" insert "opposite."

Page 112, line 2; page 115, lines 2 and 15, and Index, pages 175 and 183, for "Viollé" read "Violle."

Page 112, line 23; page 113, line 6, and Index, page 181, for "Muntz" read "Müntz."

Page 123, last line, for "1889" read "1891."

Index, page 177, for "Cotte (T.)" read "Cotte (L.)."

Index, page 179, after "Hann (J.), 36," add "173."

Index, page 179, for "Hellman (G.)" read "Hellmann (G.)."

Index, page 181, after "Langley (S. P.)" insert "28."

[Transcriber's Note: These corrections have been applied to the current version]

CONTENTS

CHAP.		PAGE
I.	THE ATMOSPHERE—ANCIENT AND MODERN KNOWLEDGE—METHODS OF INVESTIGATION	9
II.	CLOUDS—FORMATION AND CLASSIFICATION—MEASUREMENTS AT BLUE HILL—THE INTERNATIONAL OBSERVATIONS	38
III.	BALLOONS—NOTABLE ASCENTS AND RESULTS OBTAINED—CAPTIVE BALLOONS	68
IV.	BALLONS-SONDES FOR GREAT ALTITUDES—THE INTERNATIONAL ASCENTS	98
V.	KITES—HISTORY AND APPLICATION TO METEOROLOGICAL PURPOSES AT BLUE HILL AND ELSEWHERE	117
VI.	RESULTS OF THE KITE-FLIGHTS AT BLUE HILL—FUTURE WORK	145
	INDEX	175

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

		PAGE
Plate I.	Comparative Altitudes	22
Plate II.	Optical Phenomena showing the Height of the Atmosphere	26
Plate III.	Temperature at different Latitudes and Altitudes	31
Fig. 1.	Nephoscope at Blue Hill Observatory.	52
Fig. 2.	Cloud Theodolite at Blue Hill Observatory	54
Plate IV.	Heights and Velocities of Clouds	57
Plate V.	Atmospheric Circulation at different Heights in Cyclones and Anti-cyclones	61
Fig. 3.	German Balloon equipped for Meteorological Observations	87
Plate VI.	Temperatures observed in Four High Balloon Ascents	91
Fig. 4.	German Kite-balloon.	95
Fig. 5.	Baro-thermograph of Richard	102
Fig. 6.	The Aérophile rising	103
Plate VII.	Heights and Temperatures recorded in eight Ascents of the Cirrus	109
Fig. 7.	Oriental tailless Kites.	119
Fig. 8.	Eddy tailless Kite	129
Fig. 9.	Hargrave Kite	130
Fig. 10.	Modified Hargrave Kites at Blue Hill	133
Fig. 11.	Lamson's Aero-curve Kite	135
Fig. 12.	Meteorograph lifted by Kites at Blue Hill	138
Plate VIII.	Meteorogram from the Kite-flight of Oct. 8, 1896, at Blue Hill	148
Plate IX.	Mean Changes with Height, and Changes during the Kite-flight of Oct. 8, 1896	150
Plate X.	Changes with Height recorded by Kites at Blue Hill	155
Plate XI.	Kite Observations at Blue Hill, Sept. 5-11, 1897	163
Plate XII.	Automatic Records during a High Kite-flight at Blue Hill	166
Plate XIII.	Results of Kite-flights at Blue Hill during an Anti-cyclone and a Cyclone	168

SOUNDING
THE OCEAN OF AIR

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Sounding the Ocean of Air

SOUNDING THE OCEAN OF AIR

SOUNDING
THE OCEAN OF AIR