Abstract
SINCE the beginning of the war the sound of gun-firing in Flanders and France has often, been heard in the south-eastern counties of England. There can be little doubt as to the origin of the sounds, for the reports of distant heavy guns have a character which is readily recognised. A correspondent of the Daily Mail (July 6) states that at Framfield (near Uckfield), in Sussex, it is easy to identify the particular kind of gun which is being used. The great distance to which the sound-waves are carried under favourable conditions is evident from the letters recently published in the Daily Mail. As firing has occurred lately over a great part of the Western front, the exact position of the source of the sound is uncertain. But if it were in the neighbourhood of Albert the waves must have travelled about 118 miles to Framfield, 150 miles to Sidcup, and 158 miles to Dorking.
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References
âœThe Propagation of Sound in the Atmosphereâ Koninklijke Akad. van Wetenschappen te Amsterdam, Proc., vol. xviii., 1915, pp. 933â960.
It may be mentioned that, on October 28, 1914, the sound of the British naval guns that bombarded the Flemish coast was heard at a distance of 280 km., or 174 miles.
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DAVISON, C. The Propagation of Sound by the Atmosphere . Nature 97, 402–403 (1916). https://doi.org/10.1038/097402b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/097402b0