Quote:
Originally Posted by Taltarzac725
Benjamin Franklin . Inquiring Mind . Weather Wise | PBS
The discovery and description of the Gulf Stream was another hunch that Benjamin Franklin turned into reality. Benjamin Franklin . Inquiring Mind . Weather Wise | PBSDive and Discover : History of Oceanography He had many opportunities to observe the weather and the ocean in his many travels while a diplomat. These Atlantic Ocean crossings allowed him to surmise that the Gulf Stream was no babble of a brook but a mighty force which would help ships travel much faster if they used its pull. He and members of his family--cousin Timothy Folger, a Nantucket sea captain, and grandnephew Jonathan Williams, Jr-- shared in his interest in the Gulf Stream. He and Williams conducted various experiments to measure the temperature of the sea water at various depths to get a better fix on the extent of the Gulf Stream at different depths like at thirty-five fathoms. I am sure that he had some ideas though that he found too far-fetched to put down on paper and took those with him to his grave. Common-place: Overboard
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I am sure that Benjamin Franklin would have liked seeing Ginger Zee explain this puzzle. When Franklin set out to document the lunar eclipse of November 2, 1743 (Julian Calendar October 21, 1743) in Philadelphia the storm was so bad that he could not see anything. Rather than
cherry pick his observations and being the social butterfly he was, had had asked many other people to observe this event from their hometowns. One of these observers was his brother in Boston who strangely to Ben Franklin could see the eclipse even though a Nor'easter was blowing down from the Nor'east. From Boston to Philadelphia.
Applying Occam's Razor, Franklin surmised that wind directions must change from on the ground to higher up. The Nor'easter could not
muffle Franklin's enthusiasm about making another scientific discovery even if it had
expelled his chance of seeing the November 2, 1743 lunar eclipse.
TCFAQ J6) What are some important dates in the history of hurricanes http://www.infoplease.com/spot/gregorian1.html http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weathe...3/alm03oct.htm