The Model Experiment of “Siranui”

[摘要] The mysterious sea fire “Siranui” in japan has been very famous from ancient times. The mysterious nature of it was studied by the present writer and the results have already been stated(1). According to this study, “Siranui” is strange fires appearing due to the extraordinary refraction of fishermen's lamplights. The air medium giving this refraction is produced when the air on the Siranui Sea is warmed by the sea water whose temperature is about 30°C. and cooled by the air of about 25°C. coming from beaches. In order to examine this phenomenon a model experiment was carried out.Apparatus was constructed with an iron water-tank and an iron plate. the width of them being 24cm. and the length 3m. The air space between the tank and the plate, whose sectional area was 15×24cm2 and the length 3m, was heated at sand placed on the lower iron plate, and cooled by the upper tank. The disturbed motion of the air in the space was optically examined. lights being observed through it.With this method of experiment a cellular vortex motion of the air was observed, and a wavy boundary between the surface of the heater and the reflecting one, which was similar to the gossamer observed in the Siranui Sea, was also detected.When the wind was sent into the space mentioned above, and point lights placed in a row were observed through the air in the space, the appearance of them became most similar to that of the Siranui. From the results it is concluded that the Siranui is the hshermen's lamplights observed through the air warmed by the sea water, in which a cellular vortex motion takes place being set in motion by a breeze.

[学科分类] 大气科学