It's for investigating atmospheric scattering and solar radiation. He also built a heliothermometer (a thermometer inside a little greenhouse that he carried up the mountains) to measure how solar radiation changes with height.
-
-
-
From today's perspective this was all quite basic, but at the time (when instrumental study of the environment was only starting) innovative and very important for understanding how weather works. A bit later, Joseph Fourier worked out the principles of the greenhouse effect.
- 2 more replies
New conversation -
-
-
What geeks did before the internet

Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
This Tweet is unavailable.
-
-
Key tenets of Alpinism: 1. The French are rogue Swiss and should never be believed; 2. We climb mountains to demonstrate our superiority to those drunken Germans; 3. If you confuse Horace-Benedict with that Ferdinand de Saussure, you will be hurled from the nearest Alp.
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
Did he also make a Smurfy's law?
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
"Alpinism"...had to Google that one!
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
What is the purpose of measuring the blueness of the sky?
-
I propose you invert your question to something more like: "What is the purpose of anything?" Figure that out, and you may find every question can fundamentally be self-affirming.



End of conversation
New conversation -
-
This Tweet is unavailable.
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.