The Philosophy of the Weather. And a Guide to Its ChangesButler, T. B. (Thomas Belden)
Science
The Philosophy of the Weather. And a Guide to Its Changes
Butler, T. B. (Thomas Belden)
Weather; Weather forecasting
Now, it is perfectly evident that during May and September the temperature
of Central Asia is far below that of the Indian Ocean and India, and never
materially exceeds it. Central Asia is hot, "burning," if you please,
compared with more elevated, fertile, or better watered territory _in the
same latitude_, and so it has been characterized; but not so, compared
with the Indian Ocean, or India, where the sun is vertical. During the
greater part of the time, therefore, that the monsoons are in full blast,
Utah, Texas, and New Mexico, and Cobi, and the burning plains of Asia, are
from 5 deg. to 10 deg. colder than the temperature of the place where the monsoons
are blowing. Would not such a fact be perfectly conclusive in any other
science except theory-swathed meteorology?
2d. The theory assumes that the heated air has an ascensive force, which
causes it to rise and create a vacuum, and this vacuum, by its suction,
draws in the adjoining air, which immediately ascends. The adjoining air,
drawn away from its locality, leaves a vacuum, and that is filled by
another rush from the S. W., and so on, till the Indian Ocean is reached,
and the monsoons are accounted for.
Now, look at the difficulties:
The highest temperature that can be assumed for the air over Cobi, at any
time, without disregarding facts and analogy, is 100 deg.. What is the
ascensive power of an area of atmosphere of 100 deg.? For this we have no
problem or formula, although problems and formulas abound in the science.
Professor Espy relied on heated air only to give the storm a _start_. His
main reliance was on the latent heat supposed to be given out during
condensation, for his ascensive storm power. But over these "burning
plains" there is, according to the theory, no storm or cloud, or
condensation on which that supposed reliance for expansion can be placed.
What, then, is the ascension force of air at 100 deg.? _We ought to know, for
we sometimes have it as high, or within two or three degrees as high, in
all the eastern and middle States._
The monsoons blow at from twenty to twenty-five miles an hour, and
sometimes more. Is that the ascensive force of air at 100 deg.? At 25 miles an
hour it would be 2,200 feet; at 20 miles, 1,760 feet; and at 10 miles, 880
feet per minute.
Does any man believe that either current exists? Why, then, do we not have
our hats taken off, or light objects carried up, or have a monsoon, or, at
least, have the clouds running up, when we have such elevated
temperatures. _Nothing of the kind occurs with us._ Our hottest days are
comparatively still days; and I have seen the cumulus sailing gently to
the east, horizontally, when the air was at 98 deg.. Why should we be exempt?
Is not our air the same and our heat the same?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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