The Battalion College Station (Brazos County?, Texar
Thursday, May 7,1959
PAGE 3
A&M Scientists Attempting
To Use Static to Find Storms
The static that fouls your tele
vision or radio reception may some
day save your life.
A&M scientists—who three years
apro this April showed the world
how to track and forecast a tor
nado’s strike—are now trying to
translate the noise of static into
information that can improve long-
range forecasting of violent storms
or weather fronts.
Static is simply the noise made
when the electrical impulses which
all clouds carry is discharged or
“swapped” around. A&M scien
tists ard tuning in on this static
with ground-based radio receivers,
and depending on the static fz-e-
quency or intensity, they can spot
potential storm conditions at
ranges far beyond where radar can
now function efficiently.
In the future, it is hoped static
noises from far-off weather fronts
will be analyzed by weather ex
perts, who will determine if po
tentially violent weather is build
ing up. Radar will then check in
formation as the storm moves
closer.
Warning Can Be Sent
Once information from both ra
dio and radar is gathered, warn
ings can be sent to weather cen
ters, which in turn will inform the
proper agencies, and the public, by
radio and television.
Thus, the static that is simply
an annoyance to Texans today may
tomorrow give signals of storms
thousands of miles away—and al
low more time for warnings to be
given.
Texans have a prime stake in
this work. For Texas is at the
bottom of a trough that United
States weather scientists call “Tor
nado Alley.” This is a four-state
area composed of Nebraska, Kan
sas, Oklahoma and the Lone Star
State, an area through which 251
tornadoes ripped last year.
Residents of “Tornado Alley”
are now in what is normally the
“season” for violent disturbances
of the tornado type. April, May
and June are generally the worst
months in these four states. Last
year during this time Texas caught
104 tornadoes. Kansas was “sec
ond best” with 62.
Journal Accepts
Paper by Biologist
A paper presented at a recent
meeting by an A&M scientist has
been accepted for publication in
“Experimental Cell Research,” a
journal published in Stockholm,
Sweden, by the International So
ciety for Cell Biology.
Dr. Frederick H. Kasten, assist
ant professor of biology, presented
the parer, “Feulgen-DNA Changes
During Autolysis of Ascites Tumor
Cells,” at the 10th annual meeting
of the Histochemical Society in
Atlantic City, N. J., April 12-13.
The report deals with some of
the chemical changes which occur
in cancerous cells.
Kasten’s research study is sup
ported by grants from the National
Cancer Institute and the Atomic
Energy Commission.
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A&M Scientists Pioneers
Radar forecasting and tracking,
which was pioneered in the South
west by A&M scientists, is limited
in range. The big radar set now in
operation at A&M sweeps up to
400 miles, but the really useful op
erations are generally at ranges
of 250 miles or under.
Radio, however, offers possibil
ities in terms of many hundreds of
miles, and can be used to augment
existing radar procedures.
The principal scientist on cur
rent radio research at the college.
Dr. George Huebner, of the de
partment of meteorology and
Oceanography, explains the process
this way:
“All clouds carry electrical
charges. As they build up or break
up, electrical discharges occur,
which, on your radio, you hear as
static. As formations become more
intense, the rate of electrical
changes becomes faster and heav
ier, and these changes are detect-
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ding date originally was May 14.
Then they learned young Todd
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able at ranges up to thousands of
miles away.
“By using radio receivers on the
ground, with directional antennas,
scientists beam in on the more
‘promising’ areas of static, and
the clouds act as floating radio
transmitters, sending their signals
to the scientists at the receivers.
Use of Triangulation
“By triangulation, using three
sets at different locations, areas of
heavy weather can be spotted at
great distances. By learning to
‘read’ the differences in intensities
and frequencies of static, as they
relate to different formations, the
weather scientists can then tell
what is coming up and prepare
other scientists for further obser
vations by radar as the formations
move closer.
Huebner explains that A&M sci
entists are trying to learn to trans
late the differences in strength and
rapidity of static noises into terms
that will tell other scientists what
type of weather condition is build
ing up, where, and how it’s devel
oping. The range of frequencies
covered is a broad one, going from
10 kilocycles to 200 megacycles.
The work is being done for the
U. S. Air Force’s Cambridge Re
search Center, Cambridge, Mass.
“The present Air Force nets are
used primarily in location of se
vere storm centers,” Huebner says.
“We’re investigating methods that
can augment radar observations,
and provide more detailed infor
mation and can, consequently, give
more time in forecasting,” he said.
Floral Group
Helps Finance
Scholarships
One of A&M’s many projects is
the Student Floral Concession
which was started in October, 1941,
and has become a money-making
function of the Department of
Floriculture to help pay for a
scholarship in the department.
“The concession was granted to
the club by the college and is
strictly a student activity,” said
Horace R. Baker, sophomore flor
iculture major and manager of the
club this year.
Besides the money being used to
benefit the department, the work
also teaches the students how to
buy flowers and select the differ
ent styles and types.
The group has the option to sell
corsages at all major school dances
and balls as well as the home foot
ball games. All the flowers that
are used are bought through a lo
cal florist.
The students that work on the
yearly project are paid on the size
of the event. Representatives
work in every dorm and are au
thorized by the college to sell the
corsages.
“In past years the profits have
bought needed supplies for the de
partment such as a photo-copying
machine, two- microscopes, multi
copy reference books used in flori
culture and a microscope project
or,” said Baker.
“This year we paid for the train
ing of a flower judging team and
made posisble a field trip to Penn
sylvania,” Baker said.
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ITS WHATS UP FRONT THAT COUNTS
The mystery is solved! Napoleon’s
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himself that he had plenty of cigarettes.
His army may have traveled on its
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if he hadn’t been checking the Belgian
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There’s a rare smoking treat that comes
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Liles Receives Insurance Grant
Henry F. Liles, instructor in the
Division of Business Administra
tion, has received a fellowship with
Trinity Universal Insurance Co. of
Dallas.
He will be with the Dallas firm
from June 1 to July 15, studying
and observing the different de
partments.
This fellowship is one made pos
sible by the cooperation of the
American Association of Univers
ity Teachers of Insurance and in
surance companies.
Cape Cod, Mass., is surrounded
by water and is connected with the
mainland by bridges.
OLD AGE CHECKOUT
PENTICTON, B.C. (A>)_The B.C.
Old Age Pensioners’ Assn, voted
to ask the federal government to
end the “unjust discrimination”
which does not permit pensioners
to collect their checks while out
side Canada. The annual conven
tion asked that checks be for
warded.
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