(Communicated by Sir George Simpson, F.R.S.-Received 26 A pril 1938)
I ntroductionRadio-signalling methods are sometimes applied to indicate or record tem perature, pressure, humidity, and wind velocity, where the installation of an ordinary meteorological observing station would present difficulties due to the inaccessibility of the desired observing point. Such methods may also be applied to free balloon ascents for sounding the atmosphere, in which case the use of radio-signalling gives rise to three great advantages over the self-recording type of meteorograph. First, a record is obtained during the ascent of the balloon and consequently the ultim ate loss of the apparatus is of no importance; secondly, a large am ount of aerological data can be obtained at a cost far less than th a t required for aeroplane observations; thirdly, information can be obtained at altitudes considerably greater than those given by aeroplane instrum ents. For these various reasons considerable attention has been given in certain European countries and in America to radio-sounding methods of exploring the atmosphere.The collection of reliable aerological data is now a m atter of prime im portance for a variety of purposes. Since a large number of ascents are necessary to obtain an adequate knowledge of conditions over a large area, and since many of the instruments will be lost or returned in a damaged Vol. CLXVII. A.
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