THE WORLD'S ADVANCE 



259 



were taken repeatedly with the station at 

 Gothenberg, in Sweden, and faults of from 

 eight to ten degrees were always found. These 

 discrepancies were always in the northern 

 direction. As no such deviation was found 

 during the tests with other wireless stations 

 this is apparently due to some fault. The Tele- 

 graph Department will investigate whether the 

 regular wireless communication from Gothen- 

 berg in this direction shows variations. The 

 signals from Gothenberg were very good even 

 at a distance of 130 miles, and in the evening 



of the 22nd, Gothenberg was heard at a dis- 

 tance of 240 miles. 

 Conclusions : 



Although it has only been tested during a 

 short voyage, the impressions of the instrument 

 are that if reckoned with about a three degree 

 discrepancy in the bearings we have here an ex- 

 cellent aid to safe navigation. The manipula- 

 tion of the apparatus is very easy and with a 

 little experience bearings can be taken very 

 quickly. 



(Signed) L. C. HJORTDAHL. 



FREAKS OF THE ETHER 



"QlNGING static" is probably a new 

 O term to many of those interested 

 in electrical phenomena, but it is a con- 

 dition that is often met with in the 

 tropics, or any heavily charged electrical 

 area. "Static," as most of those who 

 have handled wireless receiving sets 

 know, is a succession of electrical dis- 

 charges passing from the aerial to the 

 ground, and, as a rule, of a scratchy, 

 rasping note, irregular in character, and 

 generally more prevalent during hot, dry 

 winds. "Singing static" differs in that the 

 note is steady, often of high musical 

 pitch, varying from a note similar to that 

 emitted by a 24O-cycle generator to that 

 of 500 cycles and over. Unlike ordinary 

 static, it is ofttimes capable of being 

 sharply tuned, from what observations 

 the writer has made, being on an average 

 of 1,000 meters. It is noted most during 

 a rain squall in hot, humid weather, and 

 at times the discharge will be heavy 

 enough to cross.an anchor gap or ground 

 plate, accompanied by its characteristic 

 note. 



During hot, dry weather a blast from 

 the whistle of a steamship will induce a 

 rough note in the wireless set, and at 

 times a stream of sparks across the an- 

 chor gap. This phenomenon is less noted 

 during fog, but at times when the whistle 

 is being blown frequently it will inter- 

 fere with the reception of messages. 



While off the Delaware breakwater 

 during the month of August, the writer 

 had occasion to note a static phenomenon 

 that is not often met with. There had 

 been several thunder showers and the 



weather was humid. The aerial clip had 

 been detached from the helix and was 

 hanging free without connection to the 

 ground. Immediately after a squall, a 

 high whining note was heard in the wire- 

 less cabin, coming apparently from no- 

 where. Approaching the helix clip, this 

 note rose higher than before, and a small 

 brush of flame played around the clip. 

 With the receding of the body, the note 

 died down, to rise again with the ap- 

 proach. Moving the hand rapidly back 

 and forth from the clip caused the note 

 to rise and fall with the motion of the 

 hand. With the hand three inches or so 

 from the clip, a shock was felt. Using 

 a long insulator, the helix clip was 

 brought close to a deadlight curtain rod 

 fastened to the wall and insulated from 

 any conductor. At two inches a bright 

 brush discharge was obtained, accom- 

 panied by a high note, and holding the 

 helix clip at three to four inches the 

 discharge changed to a succession of 

 sparks, with a resultant broken note. 

 Leyden jars were charged, and bringing 

 the head of a person within six inches 

 of the clip caused the hair to stand on 

 end in ludicrous fashion. The discharges 

 continued for an hour, slowly dying in 

 pitch and volume, until only an occasional 

 spark could be drawn. Following the 

 ceasing of the discharges, lightning began 

 playing on the horizon. Each flash of 

 lightning was followed by a heavy dis- 

 charge across the ground plate. It is in- 

 teresting to note that where the lightning 

 flashes could be seen from the deadlight 

 port, that the flash and the crash of flame 



