Expert: Mark Janus - 5/20/2009

Question
Hello Dr. Janus!  Recently I read a paper written in 1935. The author describes a rapid, powerful flow of water from a natural source as a "jetstream."  What would that term have meant back in 1935?  They wouldn't have had jet planes and I didn't think they had much atmospheric analysis involving the upper atmosphere.  What would be a jetstream in the scientific usage?  Thanks!

Answer
Even though they didn't have jet engines as we know them, they were working on that at the time (1935)  I'm not sure of the atmospheric studies ongoing at the time, but some aircraft possibly flew high enough to deal with (encounter) the "jetstream" ... pilots would have been on O2 or compressed air...as they didn't have pressurized cabin or cockpits at the time...

I suspect it means exactly what we would think of today...  a high speed directed flow of an unconfined/unconstrained fluid ...  that's my def not one from the dictionary (but you may try looking it up)...

mj