Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 106, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 May 1912 — SUN ECLIPSE WIRELESS TEST [ARTICLE]

SUN ECLIPSE WIRELESS TEST

One to Be Tried In Paris to Find Out Something About Violet Rays. . New York.—A series, of notable experiments in wireless telegraphy 1b to be tried in Paris April 23 during an eclipse of the sun, which will obscure four-fifths of its rays. It has been noticed by scientists that the distance over which wireless messages can be dispatched varies greatly, according to the time Of day and the direction. A message sent by rapid vibrations which will not carry more than 700 miles during the day, can be sent two or three times that distance at sunset, especially toward the south. When slower vibrations were used it can be transmitted further during the day. It is believed that these curious facts are due to the activity of the socalled ultraviolet rays of the sun, the theory being that these rays are a powerful factor in the energy of the hertzian waves. The eclipse, when a great part of these ray* will be suddenly cut off, will be an ideal occasion for decisive tests, and the wireless station on the Eiffel tower will send messages continuously from a little before the eclipse until a little after it In several directions.