The Tendency of Elongated Bodies to set in the North and South Direction

Abstract

AT one of the soirées of the Royal Society in 1920, Mr. A. E. Reeves showed an apparatus by means of which he believed he had obtained evidence that under suitable atmospheric conditions freely suspended elongated bodies set themselves with their longer axes in the geographical meridian. The evidence supplied at the time was not very convincing, and I understand that the subject is receiving further attention. In the meantime it may be pointed out that the earth's centrifugal force would act in a manner tending in the direction of the alleged effect, though the resulting couple is so minute that it would be extremely difficult to verify it experimentally.