SECTION H COSMICAL PHYSICS 



(Hall 10, September 22, 10 a. m.) 



CHAIRMAN: PROFESSOR FRANCIS E. NIPHER, Washington University. 

 SPEAKERS: PROFESSOR SVANTE ARRHENITJS, University of Stockholm Stock- 

 holm. 



DR. ABBOTT L. ROTCH, Blue Hill Observatory. 



DR. L. A. BAUER, Washington, D. C. 



THE RELATION OF METEOROLOGY TO OTHER SCIENCES 



BY SVANTE AUGUST ARRHENIUS 



[Svante August Arrhenius. Professor of Physics, University of Stockholm. Elected 

 Director of the Nobel Institute of the Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, 1905. 

 b. Wijk, near Upsala, Sweden, February 19, 1859. Candidate of natural philoso- 

 phy, Upsala, 1875; Licentiate of natural philosophy, ibid. 1884; Ph.D. ibid. 

 1884; Davy Medal, 1902; Nobel Prize of Chemistry, 1903; M.D. Heidelberg, 

 1890. Decent of Physical Chemistry, Upsala, 1884; Teacher of Physics, Stock- 

 holm, 1891; Professor, ibid. 1895; Rector, University of Stockholm, 1897-1902. 

 Member of the Academies of Stockholm, Upsala, Gothenburg, Lund, Chris- 

 tiania, Copenhagen, St. Petersburg, St. Louis, British Association of the Royal 

 Institution in London, and many others. Written numerous works on chemis- 

 try and physics in Swedish, German, English, and Russian.] 



METEOROLOGY is concerned with the scientific investigation of 

 the properties of the earth's atmosphere, and, consequently, is to 

 be regarded as an application of mechanical, physical, and chemical 

 sciences to the study of this atmosphere. An exhaustive review 

 of the relation of meteorology to these sciences would be practically 

 a review of the science of meteorology itself. It is obvious that 

 the field is far too large to permit, in the short time at my disposal, 

 of so extensive a discussion. I must, therefore, content myself in 

 presenting to you a short review in connection with some of the 

 most important points of contact of meteorology with the above- 

 mentioned sciences, which are just now being industriously investi- 

 gated. 



The motions of the air which we designate atmospheric currents 

 have long attracted the chief attention of meteorologists. The 

 theoretical investigations of these motions fall naturally within 

 the domains of mechanics, and more particularly within that of 

 hydrodynamics. It is well recognized that this is one of the most 

 difficult branches of mechanics. When we pass to the consideration 

 of the atmosphere, the difficulties are notably increased; for we may 

 by no means regard it as an approximately incompressible fluid, as 

 we may a liquid. It is, therefore, not surprising that, in spite of the 



