Why "Cirrus?"

The name Cirrus comes from a 1940s experimental cloud seeding program run by Irving Langmuir. Langmuir, born in Brooklyn, NY, studied chemistry and physics before aiding in the invention of the cloud seeding experiment in 1946. Cloud seeding, or weather modification, can be defined as the attempt to change the amount or type of precipitation that falls out of clouds or their structures. He was a prolific scientist with contributions in many fields; his accomplishments included winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1932.

Conducted in Massachusetts the first cloud seeding experiment was successful when a plane "seeded" a cloud with dry ice, causing snow to begin falling.

ASA considers cloud seeding to be a perfect comparison to the goal of our recent promotion. "The original Cirrus Project was about changing the weather. Our Cirrus Program is about changing how all engineers use their scopes, and what they pay for them," said Mike Williams, President of ASA Corp. "Our efforts are focused on changing how the industry views the average scope purchase and how customers view our product. M1 does more and costs less and we think engineers should know and experience the benefits and costs savings you can get with our software."

Interesting fact...

Irving Langmuir also refuted the claim of entomologist Charles H. T. Townsend that the deer botfly flew at speeds in excess of 800 miles per hour. Langmuir estimated the fly's true speed at 25 miles per hour.

Among his specific criticisms were:

  • To maintain a velocity of 800 miles per hour, the 0.3-gram fly would have had to consume more than 150% of its body weight in food every second;
  • The fly would have produced an audible sonic boom;
  • The supersonic fly would have been invisible to the naked eye; and
  • The impact trauma of such a fly colliding with a human body would resemble that of a gunshot wound

Using the original report as a basis, Langmuir estimated the deer botfly's true speed at 25 miles per hour.

"Sharp guy. It's a shame he wasn't around when Rj/Dj was catching on." - Mike Williams, President of ASA.