Abstract
THE LONGITUDE OF WASHINGTON.—The first direct determination of the longitude of Washington, referred to Paris, has lately been made by American and French astronomers with the aid of wireless signals between the Eiffel Tower and the naval station at Radio, Va. Full details of the extensive observations are given in Appendix to Publications of the U.S. Naval Observatory, second series, vol. ix. The antennæ at the two stations were adapted for the use of practically the same fundamental wave-length, namely, 2150 metres. Notwithstanding the great distance of 3840 miles between the two stations, the signals received at Paris are stated to have been very clear, though those received at Radio were rather feeble. The final result Washington-Paris is given as 5h. 17m. 36·6533. ±0.0031S.; and for Washington-Greenwich as 5h. 8m. 15·721S. ±0·014S. The value of the latter previously derived by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, and quoted in the Nautical Almanac, was 5h. 8m. 15·78S. It is interesting to observe that the mean double-transmission time was 0·0429S. ±0·0029S., corresponding to a velocity of transmission of 179,000±12,000 miles per second.
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Our Astronomical Column . Nature 98, 298–299 (1916). https://doi.org/10.1038/098298a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/098298a0