BILLOWING ELECTRONS

Radio Record, Volume I, Issue 28, 27 January 1928, Page 5

BILLOWING ELECTRONS

"The times at which multiple reflections occurred, indicating that the layer was parallel with the earth’s surface, were always times during Heising. "It would appear as though a great mass of electrons are tossed about into the atmosphere rather quickly, and that as a result the level drops with accompanying turbulence. Immediately thereafter repulsion by the negative charge on the earth causes the entire mass to rise and the unevenness to vanish, After the mass of electrons has moved upward for a few minutes the disposition approaches uniformity in a horizontal direction, and we get the phenomenon of reflection." THE "RADIO ROOF." It was found that during the day signal depends, to some extent, upon the height of the ‘‘radio roof,’ as it affects both the angle at which~ the radiation must leave the vertical aerial and the actual length of the path traversed by the waves. Increased height of the ‘‘roof’’? lengthens the path and increases the angle at which the waves leave the aerial. ‘This reduces the signal strength. "The short-wave lengths-longer than fifty metres-usually haye faily uniform transmission during hours of darkness,’? said Mr. Heising. ‘They do not show the falling-off in strength after midnight that is generally experienced with still shorter waves." One effect of the earth’s magnetic field is to reduce enormously the absorption that occurs on waves from 200 to 10,000 metres. It has been found that the influence of the magnetic field on absorption of waves under 100 metres is small. Mr. Heising said the locations of regions of the atmosphere where absorption of radio waves occur can be deduced reasonably well from know- | ledge of the atimosphere’s structure. which the level was rising,’’? said Mr, the strength of the sixty-seven-metre