In June 1867, the English natural scientist and meteorologist James Glacier flew over Paris in a hot air balloon. When he entered the thick cloud, an amazing event happened to him. He himself described it this way:
“Suddenly, immersed in a cloudy fog, I heard a wonderful concert. The music seemed to come from the cloud itself. The instruments sounded at a distance of several meters. I tried to peer into the depths of the white steam surrounding me from all sides, but I could not see anything. I enjoyed listening to the sounds of the mysterious orchestra."
Glacier had heard music in the clouds even earlier. Think not bad, but five years earlier he flew in a hot air balloon from Wolverhampton, England and listened to a musical orchestra. All this took place at an altitude of 4 kilometers.
In order to understand this phenomenon, the scientist began his experiments. In 1867, Glacier invited to listen to the music of two friends of balloonists - the French astronomer Camille Flammarion and the meteorologist Gaston Tissandier. They flew in balloons from Paris to Solingen, Germany. And what do you think? The French heard musical sounds several times during the flight.
Friends recalled that the musical orchestra sounded especially good when they flew over the cities of Anthony and Boulanville. All this took place at an altitude of 3280 feet. The clouds completely covered the balloon, and it seemed to them that they were listening to a magic symphony by an unknown composer.
Later, James Glaisher wrote a memoir about hot air balloon travel. The scientist found out that the intensity of various sounds coming from the surface of the earth reaches very high heights in the atmosphere. For example, the whistle of a locomotive can go up to 3,000 meters, the noise of a train - up to 2,250 meters, a dog barking - up to 1,770 meters. A musket salvo is heard at the same height. The cries of women reach 1,500 meters, as well as the sound of church bells and the crowing of a rooster. Loud sounds from men are much quieter. They do not exceed 1,200 meters. At about the same level, the beats of the drum and the playing of the military band are well heard. The calm voice of a person can be heard at 960 meters. A little further, the crackling of a rolling cart on the pavement is heard.
If you listen at night, then at an altitude of 1,050 meters you can make out how a river or a resounding stream flows. And it will sound like a big waterfall. At an altitude of 960 meters, the scream of birds is well heard, and the war calls of a mole reach a height of 750 meters. A very scary sound.
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James Glacier and his companions encountered an unusual natural phenomenon. It is caused by the influence of humidity on sound levels. The stronger the humidity of the atmosphere, the greater the height the sound rises. This phenomenon is especially noticeable in foggy weather. The clouds, like condensation of water vapor, absorbed sounds with such intensity that when Glacier and his friends flew over a crowded place, they heard musicians playing in the city square.
Illustration by Emile Bayard for Jules Verne's story "Drama in the Air".
Similar phenomena were observed by British aeronauts, rising during the fog over London. At first, while raising the ball in the fog, they could not see anything. All sounds seemed distant. Due to the lack of visibility and strong absorption of sound, the aeronauts felt isolated from the ground. Only occasionally it was disturbed by the distant barking of dogs. Recognition of sounds from the ground was made difficult by a change in timbre as a result of absorption of high frequencies in the clouds. As soon as the balloon passed the earthly layer of air, the noise of the city was again clearly audible.
Sailors are also familiar with cases when in the fog sounds are clearly audible at long distances and poorly audible at closer ones. Very often, such phenomena cause awe in people.
There is a known case when in 1997 sailors, while on Ross Island in West Antarctica, heard the sound of a moving train. It resembled the friction of wheels on rails. What was its source is unknown.
And residents of the American city of Taos (New Mexico) often hear noise of unknown origin coming from the desert. In science, he received the name "Taos rumble". The noise is similar to the movement of heavy equipment on a motorway. But the fact is that there are no highways near this city for several kilometers.
The US National Park Service found that low humidity absorbs more sounds, especially at high frequencies. James Glacier was not the first to notice the effect of humidity on the atmosphere. Back in the late 19th century, his compatriots made observations of the audibility of the clock bell of Westminster Abbey. People noticed that bell sounds were heard better and farther in the evening than during the day. This is due to the stability of the surface air layer in the evening.
In pre-revolutionary Russia in Sergiev Posad there was an expression "Lavra is buzzing." People determined what the weather would be like according to the richness and range of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra's evangelism. If the sound is heard far away, it means that it will rain soon.
Flight of Glacier and Coxwell on September 5, 1862.
Science owes a lot to James Glaisher. This selfless man did not spare himself for scientific discoveries. His main merit is the numerous experiments carried out using balloons. Their results served as the basis for the knowledge of the time about the upper atmosphere.
On September 5, 1862, a tragic incident occurred. The balloon that Glacier and his colleague used to rise reached 9,000 meters above sea level. For that time, it was the record height to which a man in a balloon climbed. The air temperature was 12 degrees. The researchers did not expect that it would be so cold at this altitude. It was 25 degrees Celsius on the ground. They went flying in summer jackets. But the problem was not only cold, but that the air was thinner. James Glaisher passed out. Fortunately, his friend Henry Tracy Coxwell realized what to do in time and opened the valve, thereby saving the life of the researcher.
James Glacier.
Glacier was mostly self-taught. His interest in science woke up after visiting the Greenwich Observatory. The main role in his education was played by his father, a gifted mathematician James Glaisher Sr. He attracted his son to his studies and instilled in him a taste for knowledge. As a result, Glaisher Jr. left behind more than 400 scientific articles on meteorology, astronomy, the history of mathematics, and number theory. In Britain, he created a network of meteorological stations, which is still in operation.
Collecting art objects was another serious hobby of the scientist. He created one of the finest collections of ceramics. Most of all he was interested in Delft porcelain (Netherlands). His collection grew rapidly, and the Fitzwilliam Museum (Cambridge) offered the scientist its premises for a permanent exhibition.
Author: Pavel Romanutenko