Electricity offered a new way to light homes and power applicances, but it came with a level of danger too, something even Thomas Edison played up in his battle with Nikola Tesla.
1930: Radio Blamed When There is Drought, or Too Much Raintrello1930
Radio Blamed When There's Drought, or Too Much Iiain 9.W Lombard" Sftiftntists scnit at tmurvj w.--(.. wnnw. i koio' Sages Who Attack Radio's Effect on Weather (Special to The Winnipeg Tribune WASHINGTON, Aue. it-There's absolutely nnthinc to anv ckiim thn! radio is responsible for drought That Is the answer of men who oucht to know to the rucsestions that broadcasting and other r:ulio services oueht to he shut down as a measure of relief for drmiKht-strlckcn areas "Electric waves drv up the air and prevent rainfall." say the self-annolnied weather sases, who cron up whenever a droucht descends. "Nothlne to It." reply the meteorological and radio scientists. It's an old storv. as rerurrinc as droughts themselves. Broadcasting stations. newsiaiers and the United States Weather Bureau inevitably pet letters containing suggestions, if not demands, that racKo stations cease operating and permit the rain to fall. This vear'.-drought, because of its scope. ha. brought its proportionate quoti of such letters. While sympathizing with the motives of the writers, scientific observers say their theories art all wrong. Radio Blamed Anyway Savs R. H. Weichtman. forecaster of the Weather lrureau at Washington: "Bv no stretch of the imagination can we preseume that radio affects the weather. Thev have no relation whatever that w-av. Odd'y enough, some of the letters we receive at other times blame radio when it rains too much." Savs Dr. A. Hoyt Tavlor, radio chief of the U.S. Naval Research laboratory, and an eminent research scholar In radio: "The weather affects radio, we know, but vou may resc assured that radio has no effect on weather. I doubt whether the electrical influence of a radio station affects the atmosphere bevond 50 or 100 yards from the station. It's an old idea. I remember the 1910 droughts in the Dakota wnen thev tried to blame the old spark sets." Effect on Air is Nil Such an infinitessimal amount of electrical power travels through the ether, which pervades atmosphere and solids alike, that the heating or drying effect is regarded as nil. It is axiomatic In radio that the Dower that actuates a receiving et, even when transmitted by a superpower broadcasting station, is mea-sureable only in flvpower even a few blocks away from the transmitter. Someone has estimated that a fly walking up a window pane consumes more energy than it takes to tune-in a radio program. This season's crop of radio weather advisors of the Weather Bureau includes a man who offers to control rainfall bv settina up broadcasting apparatus to operate en the extreme short waves. It is t well-known fact that high power on the high frequencies of radio can set up a heat area within a few feet of the transmitter, making it possible for medical men to induce fevers into patients for certain purposes. But bevond a few feet, the heating effects become nil the power, however great, has been dissipated in that magical thing called the ether. Orche.t-a (Col.). KOIL. Orchestra NHCi. Wi'.li. KSP KS'IT in mi - U .lfe s (lrclie.-tr.-i (NBC), KSTP : Altitn s orchcil-a NBO, KSP. I HIGHLIGHTS I fiooNBC (UKAKl KIcishninn Hour.' Vall.'f 's or hC51rH 1 7 ;t.l M'.c IWJZI Maxwell Vet. .dies: Wll- Inrd It.itn-Mn orclicjlra. Coiiiintna, letec- . tjee Stury hour. I alert-i ; ' i I rr-- Br' nia'i-ibs, bund o.'.utnhia. R..nanv ia-teran. NBc iwjzi vidur He i iwrt nin-ra. "The Wlrard of the Nile. ti.30 Culunit.ia. tiny Lumbnrilo'a orches tra. Toronto Exhibition Chorus Will be Heard on Radio TORONTO, Aug H The Tan id ian National Exhibition chorus of 'J. DUO voices will he b;o i,lra.-t on t hi ewninB of August -3 over a National Broadcasting company net wot k. M II. AvWwnrth. p- neral man a cor of the N.itional rirnitilc-a-'tini! ; . i I ' ; use-; Co.. will fpeak at the exhili.lion ui-lectors' luncheon August i JOURNEY'S END j t By R. C. SHERRIFF ( I "The longer you stay here," Stanhope told him, "the harder it'll be to go up." That stirred him. "Good Lord!" he protested. "You d"nt think I'm" 'I don't think. I know! You're just wasting as much time as you can." "Well, damn it all. It's no good going up till I fc-1 fit. That champagne's made my mouth feel like a bit of blotting-paper Le's just have another spot of water." Stanhope waited impatiently while Hibbert took up the earthenware bottle and poured himseif out another drink. The poor miserable devil's hand trembled s that much of the liquid missed the mug altogether, and splashed on to the table. "Here, drink this too, and then clear out. I've no more time to waste." Stanhope added some whisky to Hibbert's mug and thrust it into the other's hand. Just then Mason appeared, his gray flannel shirt and braces hidden by his tunic and equipment. He looked so unusually spick and span that one might have thought he was going on leave. "I've made up the fire to last a good three hours." he announced, "if you don't mind me popping down about nine o'clock jtst to 'ave a look at it." "All right, M ison " Stanhope glanced from Hibbert to Mason and back again. "One second," he ordered the latter. "Just give this message to the signalers. If their telephone wire's cut they'd better send it down by runner. Then join your platoon. Mr. Hibbert and I are going up now." Ho scribbled out a situation report in his Field Message rtook. and gave it to Mason, who disappeared into the signalers' dugout with It. "That gives us nearly a minute." he said to Hibbert, as ho buckled on his belt and slipped his revolver lanyard over his neck. "You heard what 1 say to Mason. Are you coming up with me. or do you want him and the others to know?" Hibbert looked at lis eor.ipanv commander for a moment. and
Back to list Β Newsletter Β Podcast