SUNSPOTS AND WIRELESS

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 3491, 29 October 1926, Page 4

SUNSPOTS AND WIRELESS

A POSSIBILITY. It is more than probable that -with, the advent of wireless on a big scale we’shall have another means of studying the varying influences of the sun upon ■ the earth. Everyone knows that sun spot activity varies during a period of about eleven years, and that in sympathy with these changes certain phenomena, particularly magnetic storms and displays of aurora, are much in evidence. Cyclical changes in the growth of trees, melting snows on the planet ItfS'rs, and colour changes on Jupiter, have also been ascribed by various observers to solar activity. But never in the world's history have so many people been directly interested in sun spots. The reason is, of course, that the age of wireless broadcasting has come, and thousands of people who hitherto did not give the matter a thought are interested in any plausible explanation of bad conditions of reception. Just at the present time, for instance, we are finding it exceedingly difficult to receive Australian programmes satisfactorily. This is not by any means due to the disturbance of "static," but just that the signals will not come through. Someone informs us that there is a huge sunspot in evidence, so what is more easy than to ascribe the trouble to that? Now there is a very great difference between a rough and ready generalisation of that kind, and the careful investigation, observation and recording of data demanded by a scientist. The present approach to a maximum period of activity should provide plenty of scope for scientific investigation of that kind. Broadcast listeners can do their part by recording conditions of reception from day to day. Transmitting amateurs can do more because they can ascertain whether conditions are local or general, and, moreover, they are in a position to find out whether short or long waves are specially affected. At the present time short-wave amateur work over the whole world is remarkably difficult. There is every likelihood that the appearance of a large spot on a particular part, of the sun’s disc may he correlated with difficulties in wireless transmission, especially with short waves. A few days ago we were in the line of “fire" of a particularly vicious one-