WEATHER TO ORDER.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 21 January 1925, Page 6

WEATHER TO ORDER.

AN AMERICAN CLAIM. USE OF ELECTRIFIED fjjAND

We can have rain or sunshine to order? An American scientist say* ves Hr. Chaffee, a professor of physics at Harvard University, opens up a wonderful prospect. Men, women and chadreii become thrilled at the possibilities of his 'new scheme. He promises to control for us the time, place and quantity of rain. Think what that means. The hot summer months so niggard ol refreshing rain, may have no terrois toi Us in future.. The economical housewife need not fear that she will have to pay exorbitant prices to her vegetable dealer or baker because of the poor crops. Nor is farming -th© only activity concerned. The control of atmospheric disturbances such as cause rain would mean the perfection of aeroplane transportation. One of the chief difficulties to beset the. aviator is the sudden presence of an impenetrable cloud which cuts off his contact with the earth. If this can he overcome, aeroplanes will be able to run on schedule like trains. As far back as one can remember, man lias been thinking of plans to combat the lyt-in when it is unwelcome and to produce it when it is needed. LVery method, from incantations to cannoning, has been tried. And now Professor Chaffee is endeavouring to dispel clouds by sand blasting. The idea was first presented to him several years ago by one L. Francis Warren, a business nian, who suggested using the discharge of saitd from an aeroplane. Chaffee played with the rather fantastic idea for a while and then conceived, the plan of electrifying the sand. His aim was to produce rainfalls by the discharge of electrified sand and to dispel clouds. The recent, experiments have proven both possible. However, only the latter ambition can rightfully be said to have, been fully realised. Chaffeeexplains how it will he possible to create a. downfall of rain through ibis method. COURSE OF THE CLOUD-

Every cloud, he says, is a collection of water, in drops so small that they do not fall to the earth at once-. The course of the cloUd is steadily downward. and by degrees the small drops of water coalesce into large drops. In time these larger drops fall to earth in the form of rain. The quantity to help or change the work of the elements, If. for instance, there should he a number of low-hanging clouds, of rain produced is in proportion to the number and density of clouds. The function of the sand planes would be with a possibility of rain- at any moment, a contrary gust of wind may hear these clouds away, or they may move by their owh momentum, and rain does not fall. Now, however, the air guard would come in lor-its part ol the work. The sand plane, or planes, would circle high above the escaping clouds and send down ’volleys of electrically charged salid, disolving the clouds and causing rain. ’

The Government is watching these experiments very closely, and otters its Army Airplane* service tor the purpose. These planes have been equipped to discharge sand in quantities rip to- ‘2OO pounds, but much larger cargoes would be possible it dirigibles were brought into this service. So far only clouds of about a mile in extent and train one to two thousand feet thick have been attacked, a ml, the smaller quantity of sand has been sufficient. The sand is sent forth in a continuous How, passjug between two electrodes. Only five to ten minutes arc required to bring about a dissolution .in. a cloud of this size. Certain accounts of the experiments have described a check on lightning flashes in the clouds attacked. AN AID TO AVIATORS At the moment llie outstanding purpose of the • experimenters is to aid aviators. It is expected that the method of dispelling clouds will he so perfected that it will justify the establishment of an air guard to watch over the flight of mail ’planes and commercial carriers just as we have sea pilots who go out to meet incoming ships. For instance, flic schedule of an aeroplane carrying mail will show that she is due to land at. a certain field. The air guard will take note of the atmospheric disturbances that are probably preventing (lie ’plane from landing with the precious cargo of urgent letters from far cities. A sand ’plane will ini mediately hop off epuipped and rca<ly to disperse the enemy element and within a few minutes the curtain of cloud will be pierced and the way to the landing field cleared. For the farmer the prospect is not as yet so bright. Exepriments have proven more successful in chasing away clouds than in coaxing them to. give up their rain. However, an artificial fall of water has been produced for the first i time in the history of science, and with such a beginning the experimenters hope to develop the principle on a much wider scale. But there is another factor to be reckoned with. As Professor Chaffee explains, there is no such thing as rain out of clear skies. Without clouds in tire heavens it is impossible to bring forth rain, however greatly it is needed. So that the farmer cannot hope for assistance by the scientist alone; Nature must also, lend a hand.

This rain-controlling device has already been covered by patents in mostparts of the world. Mr. Warren sees possibilities in the invention for commercial purposes besides the obvious opportunities for its use in war and for mail and passenger transportation. It

may be the nexv step to organise rainmaking and cloud-controlling enterprises to deal with individual demand's, that is, it may be possible for an individual to order either a shower of rain, a downpour, or a cloudless day. This would again bring up tlie question of rights in the air. The possibilities of .mot-rolled weather offer a- fantastic Held for imagination. But the inventor by no means dismisses the idea. Meanwhile he is devoting himself to perfecting the system in a field where its success has been demonstrated —the pc he trat ion of cloud banks.