Papers on meteorology : relating especially to the climate of Britain, and to the variations of the barometer / by Luke Howard.

  • Howard, Luke, 1772-1864.
Date:
1850-1854
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Papers on meteorology : relating especially to the climate of Britain, and to the variations of the barometer / by Luke Howard. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    5/174
    RESEARCHES IN METEOROLOGY. § I. INFLUENCE OF THE MOON ON THE ATMOSPHERE ACCORDING TO HER CHANGE OF PLACE IN HER ORBIT:—VARIATIONS OF THE BAROMETER, TEMPERATURE, WINDS, AND RAIN IN CONNEXION WITH THE PHASES AND THE APSIDES, RESPECTIVELY. Mr . HOWARD’S first observations on the periodical variation of the Barometer, as connected with the position of the Moon in her orbit, were made while keeping a register of that instrument in the year 1798. This register was kept at Plaistow, in Essex, about five miles east of London, where he then resided and conducted a Laboratory belonging to the firm of Allen and Howard, chemical manufacturers. The course of the Barometer was traced by daily observations on a set of blank charts originally published by Dr. Buxton in the year 1794, each of which served for a month, being ruled horizontally with lines dividing the space into inches and tenths, answering to a scale; and being also ruled perpendicularly with other lines, two- tenths distant, the space between every pair of which was allotted to each day. As the moon’s phases had been inserted in the explanatory plate accompanying Dr. Buxton’s charts, by a character affixed to the day, Mr. Howard continued the practice of so indicating them in his register; and being prepared by some previous though slight information on the subject, began, after some time, to observe a coin- cidence between the phases and the course of the Barometer; which at length became very evident, and gave occasion to further inquiry. This coincidence consisted in the depression of the barometrical line on the approach of the new and full moon, and its elevation on that of the quarters. “ In above thirty out of the fifty lunar weeks in this year [1798],” Mr. Howard states in the paper in which he announces these observations, “ the barometer will be found to have changed its general direction once in each week, in such manner as to be either rising or at its maximum for the week preceding and following, about the time of either quarter; and to be either falling or at its minimum for the two weeks, about the new and full. It is remarkable that the point of greatest depression during the year, viz. to 28 67, is found about twelve hours after the new moon on the 8th of the eleventh month [November]; and B