Laboratory Studies -32- 



Workman-Reynolds Effect . When Workman and Reynolds announced 

 in 1948 their discovery of the formation of a large electrical potential when 

 water containing small quantities of certain salts is in the process of 

 freezing, Schaefer decided to check the experiments by an independent in- 

 vestigation. Accordingly, test equipment was set up and observations were 

 made. 



The Workman-Reynolds electrical effects were immediately observed. 

 The results of this experiment have very important implications with re- 

 spect to the development of lightning in thunderstorms.^ 4 "^ 



Electrical Atomization . Some qualitative experiments were made by 

 Vonnegut and Neubauer to determine the effects of high voltage on the form- 

 ation of water drops. w4E) It was f oun d that streams of highly electrified, 

 uniform droplets about 0.1 millimeter in diameter could be produced by 

 applying potentials of from 5 to 10 kilovolts, ac or dc, to liquids in small 

 capillaries. Aerosols of uniform size and having a particle radius of a 

 micron or less could be formed if the capillary was positively charged and 

 if liquids having low electrical conductivity were used. Aerosols formed in 

 this way showed the colors of higher -order Tyndall spectra. 



STUDY OF CLOUD TYPES 



In connection with an investigation of snowstorm intensities, Schaefer 

 started measuring variations in sky brightness using a light-sensitive instru- 

 ment. Falconer subsequently carried on the measurements in more detail. 

 It was discovered that the variations in the curve made by this instrument 

 were a rather good indicator of the type of cloud cover prevailing during a 

 day. There seemed to be a typical trace for each general cloud type. 



Such an instrument might be useful in automatic weather stations, to 

 give some indication of sky conditions in remote locations. 



Test installations were made by Falconer at various points aground 

 and aloft, and considerable data were gathered. '") 



ANALYTICAL WORK 



Of great significance, both in connection with activities of the Research 

 Group and with those of the Operations Group, was the analytical work per- 

 formed by Langmuir. It constituted one of the most important contributions 

 to the project. 



