RAAF Meteorological Service
Foreword
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Weather Factor in Warfare
Chapter 2: Establishing and Developing the RAAF Directorate of Met. Services (D.Met.S)
Chapter 3: Recruiting and Training of Personnel
Chapter 4: Meteorology in Aviation
Chapter 5: The Met. Retreating
Chapter 6: The Met. Advancing
Chapter 7: The Met With the Army and the Navy
Chapter 8: Divisional Offices of the Bureau of Meteorology During the War
Chapter 9: Research and Instrumental Development
Research
Instrumental Development
Chapter 10: The End, Aftermath, and Beyond
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Appendix 3
Appendix 4
References
Index
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Instrumental Development
In the science of meteorology many instruments are involved. As time goes on some are superseded, modified or improved. At the outbreak of World War II, instruments in common use included thermometers of various kinds (dry and wet-bulb, maximum and minimum, soil and water), barometers (mercury and aneroid), anemometers, sunshine recorders, barographs, thermographs, rain gauges, hydrogen generators, pilot balloons, theodolites, slide rules and Stevenson screens.Before the war, Allan Cornish and Alan Martin constituted the professional staff of the instrument section at the Central Office of the Bureau. The former explained to me as follows: 'The functions of the instrument section included engineering and other procurement specifications as well as inventory control'.[93]
War requirements necessitated the introduction of new techniques. Martin described to me the interesting development of more efficient hydrogen generators during 1941 in order to meet increasing meteorological requirements. Hydrogen was used to inflate pilot and radiosonde balloons. Alan Martin did most of this development resulting in the production of many new generators, some of which were . . .
'a modified one hundred cubic foot oxygen cylinder with a working pressure of one hundred and twenty atmospheres, autoclave stopper and a bursting disc. The charge consisted of some two pounds of ferrosilicon, two pounds of NaOH and two quarts of water. The reaction speed depended on the size of the ferrosilicon grain and could be dangerous. Many trials were necessary.'[94]
People in Bright Sparcs - Cornish, Allan William
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Bureau of Meteorology |  |
© Online Edition Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre and Bureau of Meteorology 2001
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