THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION- 225 



from one cloud to another. Neither the diameter nor lenglh of the 

 human frame would be sufficiently great, in proportion to th'j' interval 

 to be percurred, to cause a discharge of lightning to deviate much from 

 any route which it otherwise would pursue, in order to employ that 

 frame as a part of its circuit in the discharge. 



3. There would be more risk of suffering by a dynamic inductive 

 shock. This shock is exemplified when persons are stunned while 

 near one who is directly struck. Yet while enveloped in a thunder 

 cloud, the aeronaut could not be injured by any discharge, whether be- 

 tween that cloud and another or between it and the earth. 



4. The most intense electrical excitement, as imparted by a powerful' 

 machine to an animal supported by an insulated stool, produces no 

 serious discomfort, so long as no spark is taken from any particular 

 spot. The destructive violence of electricity is only displayed during 

 transition, as when a comparatively slender body is made the medium' 

 of reciprocal neutralization to oppositely excited surfaces. 



5. Under this view of the case, it is to be hoped that Mr. Wise ma)'' 

 prove the pioneer in a new career of observation, and that encouraged 

 and instructed by his example, a succession of scientific observers may 

 visit the region of clouds during thunder gusts and gales. 



G. The greatest source of danger is the violence of the winds, which 

 when high must make it difficult to quit the terrestrial surface, or to 

 descend upon it with safety. The velocity of the wind, It oivever great, 

 would have no more influence upon a balloon floating in it aloft, than 

 the orbitual movement of our planet upon the bodies resting upon its 

 surface. 



7. A.S, agreeably to the narrative of Mr. Wise, the ascension com- 

 menced at half-past five, p. m., it is inconceivable how a landing could 

 have been effected at nearly one hundred miles from the place of start- 

 ing, especially as in the fifth paragraph of his s3'nopsis he alleges that 



, he was in the margin of the third storm noticed, iwenty-five minutes. 

 ; It is to be presumed that there is an erratum as respects the time, either 

 f of the commencement or of the termination of his voyage. 



8. Presuming, however, that the observations of Mr. Wise ai-e reli^ 



i able as respects certain phenomena which bear upon the theory of 

 f storms, T will endeavor to show that they are quite consistent with the 

 i, idea that electricity is a principal agent in the generation of storms. 



9. Mr. Wise gives the following synopsis of the observations made 

 !, during his aerial voyage: 



, "1st. Thunder storms have two plates of clouds; the upper of these 

 discharging the contents, whatever they may be, whether rain, hail, or 

 snow, into the lower. 



"2d. Sheet lightning, of an orange color, undulates silently between 

 the upper and lower strata of clouds, with a waving motion. 



"3d. Discharges of electricity take place from the lower cloud. By 

 discharges are meant thunder and lightning. 



"4th. The distance between the upper and lower cloud was not less 

 than two thousand feet, by eye measurement. 



"5th. The current uprising from the terrestrial surface was not 

 Mis. Doc. 24 15 



