RADIO AND THE WEATHER

Manawatu Times, Volume LII, Issue 3542, 25 February 1927, Page 4

RADIO AND THE WEATHER

1 Since a high-powered station has been in prospect, the writer ha s several times' been asked whether it will rot have a serious and perhaps injurious effect on the weather, or in some other way influence the Uveg of the people through its electrical discharge The answer is a plain “No.” Some people are alarmed by the “five kilowatts," but as a matter of fact this la quite a small amount of power: it la only big for broadcasting. Five kilowatts is somewhat less than seven horse-power. It is as much power as will run ten , ordinary electric Irons, or light about 1 a hundred average household electric lamps. But, someone may say, “this power la not used for irons or lighting; all this electricity is being thrown out into, the air,• it must have some effect.” A s a matter of fact, none of the electricity is being thrown into the air: broadcast power is not electricity at all, any more than the heat of a radiator or the light of an electric' lamp is. When we get right down to it, the power that comes from a broadcasting station is of exactly the ‘same general character as light or heat and an electric lamp is, in its way, very like a small broadcasting station; it Is changing electric power into another form and throwing it broadcast. With the lamp our eyes are the receivers; with the broadcasting station, we require an artificial apparatus which is sensitive to the power and which converts it again into electrical energy.