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breAllen/vhk/62189--—.

SUBJ: The Relationship Beticen Energy and Rate of Cloud Rise

TO: Dre fie De Urry

FRU: 7. We Allen

(3 J

DATE: 11 Dec 52st

As you suggested last teek, I have gone over all available data on the
1.
rates of rise of cloucs from U.S. atomic tests and have plotted values for the
rates cf rise against energy in EKT, 2s shown in the accospanying graph, together
vith the empirical equaiion of rolcticnsiiipe

2e
The rate of rise changes with time, increzsing te a mixicam during the
first minute and decreasing thereafter to essemially zero after about 19 minutes.
The data available twvs cre nut good enough te shew the maxirsm rate due to poor
timing and infsequen. mecsurcucuts, but ucy Ue used to obtain the average rate of¢
rise over a period of mimics. The everage over the initial 3 minutes is used on

this graphe

in eli cases exces. IVY Mine the cleucs were still rising rapidly

and were still in the troposphere after the third rinutee
treated in a special manner as indicated below.

Tne Like cloud vas

It is reascnadle to believe there to be some dependency of rise rate on

the lapse of ambient air temperature sith altitude. The efiec. of (nversions and
Stable leyers will, hovever, be e minimmsa in the earliest seconds of rise, increasin
tin impertance 2S the temperature ditiertence decreascs between cloud and surreunding

ctmcsphere,

When the cloud reaches ambient air tenperature, further vertical motion

4s damped out.

It is therefore preferable to sacasure the rate of rise at the earlie:

pessivle time, and the maximum rate of rise should be more indicative of energy than
the mean 3-minute rate used here.
Since the mean lapse rate of temperature is markedly different in the
stratosphere than in the troposphere, it is preferable to make all neasurements in
the troposphere until adequate corrections can be made for thise
.
3e

Rate of rise data are available from the following sources:

Be
Qveration SANDSTONE. lr. Paul Humphreys, USIB, documeated the
tise and dispersion of the SANDSTC:E clouds in an AFP publication, “Classified
Sclentific Ueteorolegical Information, Cperation SANDGTON=." His data vere obtained
by theodolite and are reasonably accurate over at least the first few minutcs of risc
be
GREEIZiIOUSE. The rise of tne GREEIHOUSE clouds were obtained from an unpublished repcrt on “Cloud Physics", Proj. 4.6, by Dr. W.t/.Kellogg,

Raerd Cerpe

iiotion picture phcicgraphy were analyzee fer cloud rise arc cleud

dimensions, and the ra tes of rise over the first 4 cr 5 minuctcs are probaply good,
although weather clouds obscured parts of the atomic clouds. The maximm altitudes
of the Dog and George clouds are still in doubt since the tops of these clouds were
not visible from the camera positions.
Co
BUSTER-JANGLE. Two sources of cloud rise data are
available for these operations, one being that taken by myself (vith your help in a

(Sf
Copleas/DoE
LANL, J-Div,

Incl 1)”

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