PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2173, 11 June 1914, Page 5

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

Under tho auspices of tho "Wellington Philosophical Society an interesting lecture was given by Mr. C. E. Adams, Government Astronomer, at the Dominion Museum, last evening. The subject of the lecture was tho "Prediction of Tides." Mr. J. Marchbanks, engineer to the Wellington Harbour Hoard, was in tho chair.

Mr. Adams explained that the tide cauee which had been established in Wellington, as in othe: ports, gave an irregular curve showing the times and heights of high and low water. By making use of known factors and principles (on lines originally indicated by Lord Kelvin) this irregular curve could lie analysed into a large number of separate curves each of which was an absolutely regular period. Tu all parts of the world the magnitude of waves, as indicated by these curves, had to be determined locally by tho analysis of tho tide record for a year. Mr. Adams passed on lo explain the enormous amount of arithmetical calculation necessary in working out tidal constants, but added that it had been greatly reduced by the use of calculating machines. .Several of those machines were shown in the room.

A number of questions were answered at the conclusion of the Iccture, and, on the motion of the chairman, a vote of thanks was passed to the ltcturer.