MAN CAN MAKE RAIN

Chronicle (Levin), 11 April 1947, Page 5

MAN CAN MAKE RAIN

(Special Correspoiid?nt.)

SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENTS IN AUSTRALIA

SYUNFi, April 1U. A report now beiug prepared by the adio-.pJiysics division for the Ausralian (jmuu-il for Scientiiic and indusrial Kesearch will elder indisputable proof that scieiitists, experimenting ner New South Waies last January and February, produeed rain at will for the ■ rst 'time in history. Leadiug spir.it. s in the enterprise are Or. Eric Kraus, of Czechoslovaicia, who is now working with the council, and a jueteorolog'ist, .M r. Patrick Squires. Ten nionths ago Dr. lvrans, then on his way to Australia, saw an experiment by the Ameriean sciontists, Alessrs. Langtnuii and iSehaeft'er, in which ic crystals were produeed in a laooratorv by suddenly cooling nioist air. Last December these nien took theii experiment out of the laboratory, but snow, wlliieh thev eausod to niaterialisc from eloud, did not reacli the ground. Dr. Kraus and Air. Bquires decided tu apply tests worked out by the lates; Ameriean experience to a theory of a ywedish seientist, Alr. Bergeron. Alr. Bergeron postuiated that some clouds j contained water droplets at far lowei i temperatures than normal freezing, and j that tlie presence of ice crystals uudei . ■tliose oonditions vvould cau.se rain. (Jooperafcion of the Ji.A.A.^1. was obtained, and early in January a quantify of dry "solidilied carbon dioxide" was loaded into a Liberator. Three inen ofj rhe radio-physics division, including Dr. Ivraus, made tlie lirst experiment on I stratus eloud at 23,000 feet over thei AlacPherson Ranges on tlie New Boutli \V'ales'Queensland border. From sugar bags, 2001b. of dry ice, costing £2 10s was emptied dovvn a: chute into the top of a eloud from the plane, which was traveliing at about 210 miles an hour. Observers saw small eumulus clouds rising from the stratus and rain shovved on the Liberaror's radar screen. Titrning back, the plane rau into an isolaled shower in the target area. Next time, at 28,0OU feet, they conducted a siinilar experiment on a single eumulus eloud. Again, they saw a rising eloud puff, and noted rain recordings by radar, and fiew through heavy rain under the target eloud. It was the third flight on February 5, which eonvinced them of success by providing positive rcsults recorded by a Jarge number of observers. The experiment was carried out between lvatooniba and Bathurst over , eumulus eloud at 22,000 feet. Within nine minutes eloud in the target area erupted to 10,000 feet above the main mass, and two and a-half hours later rain was still +'alling. General deterioration of the weather in the area f'ollowed by chain reaction. This result was elieeked by radar from Sydney and by local farmers, who reported isolated rain from an unusual quarter. The original rainfall aniounted to 20 points and eovered 30 square miles. These and other experiments prove conelusively that rain can be produeed wherever similar conditions exist. .lust how important this t'act can be in bringing aid to the waterless deserts of the world can be found only by long and exacting compilation of meteorological data at liigh altitudes.