



71ie Theory of the Winds. 



399 



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c/c . 



K t k. 



X.Jh. 



XJh. 



ic/(c-V 2 ). 



213X10- 7 



10 



•225 



790 



•628 



•008 



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5 



•318 



395 



1-26 



•017 



1-00 



107X10- 3 



4 



•356 



316 



1-57 



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5-39 X10- 3 



3 



•410 



224 



2-09 



•028 



1-02 



2-23 X10~ 2 



o 



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161 



3-14 



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1-08 



7-32X10- 2 



1-5 



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125 



3-53 



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119 



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1 



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91-6 



6-28 



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1-46 



1 -35x10 - 1 



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79-4 



7-86 



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1-69 



1-29X10" 1 



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105 



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57-7 



157 



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48-3 



31-4 



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5-45 



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44-0 



62-8 



•143 



1057 



S-19X10- 3 



The symbols \ 1? \ 2 denote the lengths of the waves at the 

 upper surface and at the interface, respectively. 



XLV. The Theory of the Winds. 

 To the Editors of the Philosophical Magazine. 



Gentlemen, — 



IN a recent paper * I suggested that the reason why the 

 winds of middle latitudes blow as a general rule towards 

 ' the poles, in opposition to the surface temperature gradient, 

 is that the stratosphere is much warmer over high latitudes 

 than it is over low latitudes. If the winds blew in accordance 

 with the surface-temperature gradients, there would be north- 

 easterly and south-easterly winds moving from the poles 

 towards the equator, and the equatorial regions would be 

 areas of low pressure whilst the polar regions would be areas 

 of high pressure — the high -pressure belts which are now at 

 latitudes 30° north and 30° south of the equator would move 

 to the poles. Such a distribution of the winds would result 

 in a very considerable increase in the size of the frigid polar 

 areas. 



Dr. Walker has recently suggested that the effect of solar 

 radiation on the upper atmosphere may be an important 

 consideration. 



The comparatively high temperature of the stratosphere 



over the polar areas is not accounted for very easily. In the 



summer, no doubt, the atmosphere in these areas enjoys 



continuous sunshine, and for some time receives more heat 



* Phil. Mag. vol. xxx. July 1915, pp. 13-33. 



