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Topic: Stormglass
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JoeMac
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posted July 22, 2022 06:01 AM
I was wondering if anyone has used a "Stormglass"
Seems like a novelty, but apparently it was being used over 100 years ago.
From: Boston, MA.
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David Burch
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posted July 23, 2022 02:26 PM
Not sure what this is. Do you have a reference?
From: Starpath, Seattle, WA
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David Burch
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posted July 24, 2022 04:10 PM
Thanks.
These are (very expensive) novelties/conversation pieces. Not at all useful for weather analysis or forecasting.
In the ad you cite we read:
"Admiral Fitzroy, the famous British sailor and meteorologist, mounted an instrument similar to our stormglass on the mast of HMS Beagle as a storm warning instrument during his historic voyage with Darwin in the 1830s."
Fitzroy (father of marine weather) wrote two important related books after the voyage. What he refers to occasionally as "weather-glass" is a mercury barometer. He was one of the early experts on its use. You can find both books in full online and I am pretty sure you will not find mention of such gimmicks.
In short, the similar instrument (ie made from glass) that they refer to was an actual barometer, in no way related to what looks like a jar of aloe vera in an expensive brass housing.
You are doing the right thing by researching things that do not make sense... even if we read it on the internet!
From: Starpath, Seattle, WA
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