Continuous Kenelly-Heaviside Layer Records of a Solar Eclipse

A new type of apparatus, which makes a continuous automatic record of the varying heights of the Kennelly-Heaviside layers over a long period of time, has been designed. The history and the preliminary experiments are mentioned briefly. Two models are described and illustrated. The first model is a fixed piece of radio-transmission laboratory equipment, designed for maximum flexibility in operation. The second model is a light, compact, portable recorder, designed for field use. An expedition was sent to New Hampshire during the total solar eclipse of August 31, 1932. Continuous records of layer heights were made during the entire week of the eclipse. The portion of the record obtained on the afternoon of August 31 shows definite, abnormal variations of large magnitude. The F layer record shows two high peaks, with a minimum at totality, accompanied by double refraction effects. The first peak occurs forty minutes before totality, and the second peak occurs forty minutes after totality. The observations agree with the measurements made by another field expedition, and with additional records made by the laboratory apparatus in Cambridge, Mass.