It could have been worse. See Frederic Brown's short story The Waveries in
which all electrical and radio phenomena were disrupted.
73
John
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********
On 07/11/2006 at 01:11 [email protected] wrote:
>Hi Scott and the list,
>
> It seems that Professor Olmstead was an emminent Scientist, although
>his theory on telegraph lines and lightning has not been born out he
>appears to be the first to associate periodic meteor showers and comets.
>
>http://docsouth.unc.edu/bios/pn0001301_bio.html
>
>
>"He published many scientific papers, including those on the thermometric
>observations made by Dr. Joseph Caldwell in 1820-22, his thoughts on the
>causes of hailstorms (1830), and the behavior of lightning (1850). By his
>detailed observations of the famous meteor shower of 13 Nov. 1833, he
>established the periodicity of such falls and their origin by matter from
>outside the earth's atmosphere revolving around the sun, perhaps derived
>from comets. "
>
>--
>73 Warren K2ORS/WD2XGJ/WD2XSH/23
>FN42hi
>http://www.w4dex.com/wd2xgj.htm
>
> -------------- Original message ----------------------
>From: Scott Tilley <[email protected]>
>> While reading the morning paper, Canada's 'Globe and Mail' I found this
>> interesting little quip:
>>
>> "On this date in 1847, The Globe reported: 'The various wires of
>> telegraph beginning to intersect so many sections of our country are
>> said to have a decided effect upon electricity. That eminent scientific
>> man, Prof. Olmstead of Yale College, states, that as the storm comes up
>> and especially when over the wires, say 50 or 100 miles distant, the
>> lightning is attracted by the wires... 'It is my opinion,' he says,
>> 'that we shall never have very heavy thundershowers or hear of lightning
>> striking, so long as we have telegraph wires spread over the Earth.' ' "
>>
>> Source: Glode and Mail, Monday, November 6, 2006
>>
>> If this where only true! Or, perhaps the demise of the telegraph and the
>> rise of radio did us all in and doomed us to thunderstorm static forever
>;-)
>>
>> 73 Scott
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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