John Stockton

 

New Scientist 30th January 1975. Vol 65 No 934.

The Monitor section of issues 934 has two items, “The big hole that Skylab’s rocket made” and Do motor vehicles wind up the atmosphere?” that would today be regarded as belonging in Anthropocene studies. Quoting Science (vol167, p343) monitor described how Michael Mendillo of Boston University, Gerald Hawkins of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and John Klobuchar of the Airforce Cambridge Laboratories in Bedford Mass had detected a reduction in the electron content of the Ionosphere after the hydrogen-burning third stage of the Saturn 5 rocket, that launched the Skylab space station, dumped over one ton of water vapour per second into the F layer. The monitoring of radio signals from the ATS 3 satellite in geosynchronous orbit revealed a 1000km “hole” that stretched from Labrador to Illinois that lasted for 90 minutes before beginning to recover. The three workers suggested that the effect had not been noticed in the previous 12 Saturn 5 launches as the rockets had delivered their payloads into lower (parking) orbits.

Monitor also reported a paper from Nature vol 253, p254 that theorised an observed increase in the number of tornados in the USA in the previous 40 years could be caused by the energy imparted to the air between opposing streams of traffic on highways. The paper was written by John Isaacs, James Stork, David Goldstein and Gerald Wick.

Noting that air located between vehicles traveling in opposite directions would be rotated in an anticlockwise direction, the four scientists wondered if this kinetic energy could trigger larger vortices in conditions already favourable to tornado formation. Their mathematical model suggested that Americas two million cars and 600,000 trucks would produce more vorticity than the Earth’s rotation over one week of driving. Intriguingly, the statistics available to them indicated that there was a 14% reduction in the number of tornadoes on Saturdays, when the daily commutes to work were over and many trucks did not operate.

With the benefit of hindsight, the increased number of tornadoes might be explained by early onset climate change, combined with natural variability.

The Monitor section of issues 934 has two items, “The big hole that Skylab’s rocket made” and Do motor vehicles wind up the atmosphere?” that would today be regarded as belonging in Anthropocene studies. Quoting Science (vol167, p343) monitor described how Michael Mendillo of Boston University, Gerald Hawkins of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and John Klobuchar of the Airforce Cambridge Laboratories in Bedford Mass. had detected a reduction in the electron content of the Ionosphere after the hydrogen-burning third stage of the Saturn 5 rocket, that launched the Skylab skylab space station, dumped over one ton of water vapour per second into the F layer. The monitoring of radio signals from the ATS 3 satellite in geosynchronous orbit revealed a 1000km “hole” that stretched from Labrador to Illinois that lasted for 90 minutes before beginning to recover. The three workers suggested that the effect had not been noticed in the previous 12 Saturn 5 launches as the rockets had delivered their payloads into lower (parking) orbits.

Monitor also reported a paper from Nature vol 253, p254 that theorised an observed increase in the number of tornados in the USA in the previous 40 years could be caused by the energy imparted to the air between opposing streams of traffic on highways. The paper was written by John Isaacs, James Stork, David Goldstein and Gerald Wick.

Noting that air located between vehicles traveling in opposite directions would be rotated in an anticlockwise direction, the four scientists wondered if this kinetic energy could trigger larger vortices in conditions already favourable to tornado formation. Their mathematical model suggested that Americas two million cars and 600,000 trucks would produce more vorticity than the Earth’s rotation over one week of driving. Intriguingly, the statistics available to them indicated that there was a 14% reduction in the number of tornadoes on Saturdays, when the daily commutes to work were over and many trucks did not operate.

With the benefit of hindsight, the increased number of tornadoes might be explained by early onset climate change, combined with natural variability.

A third item in Monitor is Test driving the new Anglo-Australian Telescope reported on a talk by Dr Paul Murdin of the Royal Greenwich Observatory given at the Junior Astronomical Society. Dr Murdin was enthusiastic about the new telescope and showed a photograph of the globular cluster 47 Tucanae that he had recently taken. 50 years ago, the telescope incorporated the latest computerised controls, but also featured an observers cage in which an astronomer could view objects through an eyepiece.

“ But the system is not without its weak spots. One was discovered while Murdin was riding the prime focus cage, high above the floor. A false fire alarm went off in an adjoining building, causing the air conditioning to shut down automatically. This resulted in the hydraulic systems shutting down, so both the telescope and the “cherry picker”, designed for such contingencies to get the observer out of difficulties, were immobilised. Murdin was stuck in the telescope until the power could be restored. As a result, until the systems are improved, a rope ladder is to be carried in the prime focus cage, so that in event of a fire the observer will be able to shin to safety, a starry-eyed Errol Flynn.”

 

Feedback (page 270) 0f issue 934 has an item covering a story that would run for many years. Baby milk men are still tuned in reports on the controversial use of radio to advertise the products of Nestle and Cow and Gate in African countries were semi-literate families were less likely to appreciate the risks of using formula baby milk where water supply hygiene was inadequate. Feedback noted that under pressure from health authorities the manufacturers had reduced advertising in Nigeria, only to increase it in Sierra Leone, where 30 second baby milk advertisements were being broadcast twenty times a day in English, two vernaculars and Krio. According to the senior paediatrician in Sierra Leone, Dr D.J.O. Robbin-Coker, the widespread introduction of milk powders was a major factor in the increase in infant malnutrition and gastroenteritis. . There was a consumer focused boycott of Nestle products in subsequent years.