Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-22
A8 Owe THE EARTH
Prof. Hazsn on the Recent Balloon Ex-
periments at st. Louis.
Some of the Conditions Were Not
Favorable-Great Practical Value
of Such Experiments.

An item in The Star of the 10th instant
regarding a novel and most interesting ex-
pertinent with balloon at ST. Louis on the
evening of the 18th instant demands more
than passing notice, as II seems to be the
beginning, in this country, of what may
prove one of the most important practical
investigations ever undertaken here The
experiments of sending up balloons equip
ped with self-registering apparatus to the
highest point attainable has been repeated
~ tried In France, but never with the ltber-
ality displayed at St. Louis The balloon
which was the most successful at Paris
was made Of gold beaters' skin and was
only about 70 feet in diameter but through
the most extraordinary Hghtness of the
raDr1c IL attained height of about ten
miles. The balloon at st. Louis was IS feet
in diameter. OF course it should he horn
IN mind that the smaller balloon is vastly
easier to handle and the expense is much
less. The larger balloon can be followed
better and If properly constructed should
give results which cannot be thought of
with the other
some Cnfavorab1e Conditions.
The details of the balloon at ST. Louis are
not mentioned, but it is to be noted that
tnere Is an error in the item in stating
tnat the gas used was hydrogen, for ii was
common Illuminating gas. The day chosen
Ior nperatiEg the balloon was unfortunate
IN that the currents would almost ineyita-
Oily carry 1t to the lakes and possibly thou
| sands OF miles beyond. Also the evening
seems to be the poorest time of day for
II sent up In the morning, it could proba-
Oily De followed from beginning to end OF
Its journey, while at night il would be lost
slght OF almost Immediately. In France
the practice has been to SO arrange as 10
shorten the time above the earth as much
as possible and no ballast has been used,
wniie at St. Louis ballast was used and
dropped by clock work. This would keep
the baiioon up several days and would al
most absolutely insure its total loss 1t
mas been learned from studies at Mt. Wash
ington that during the meteorological con-
dttfons prevailing above st. Louis Monday
evening the upper current has velocity
at 900 feet Of 80 to $50 miles per hour
and 1t is highly probable that still higher
up the current has much greater velocity.
What Ought to Be Done.
Suppose the velocity was 100 miles per hour
and the balloon stayed up sixty hours. the
distance to which it would go in a unif,-
horizontal current would be one-auarter
around the earth. OF course, there are no
sucn UNIFORM long-distancc currents in the
atmosphere, but they are sufficient to carry
such a balloon far beyond the ken of man
unoer any except the most unusual or i'm
probable conditions. The method adopted
in France was to use no ballast and to give
the balloon good impetus by a great
buoyancy. The rise was at the rate of 200
feet per minute and the descent of 700 feet
In one instance Prof. Wise found himself
being rapidly borne out to sea by his bal
loon, and his valve line entangled in the bal
loon far beyond hts reach. AS a dernier
resort he began throwing off ballast in great
quantities and this caused the balloon to
rise very rapidly, and ultimately after a
good deal of gas had flowed out at the
neck, he was enabled to make a safe land
ing. 1t is probab that in such experi nants
a good deal of gas may be saved by Initiating
the balloon until il can lift 400 or $50 rounds
over and above its total load; then If sud-
denly released, it will ascend RAPIDLY TO the
highest point to which it can possibly go.
even as high balloon full of gas at
starting. The great advantage Is that,
II there is no ballast, the return trip will
be made in an hour or two and the balloon
can be easily recovered.
As to the Register.
In the successful trip at Paris last March
the ink of the self-register froze at a very
critical point, and this injured the value of
the record. This can be avoided by making
the registering sheet of celluloid and black
ening it with smoke; then a blunt needle
point on the registering arm will trace a
curve in this smoke surface that can he fol-
lowed with the minutest accuracy. The
lowest temperature recorded was I'd degrees
below zero, Fahrenheit, at 1900 feet, and it
was probably 1o4 degrees below zero at the
highest point. 52.5o0 feet. The French
savants make a computation for this last
temperature of 256 degrees below zero but
there seems to be very serious error in
IL, as the temperature dimnution with
height shows that it was nearer 10i degrees
1t will require scores of such records TO
establish the truth under varying conditions
of storms, cold waves, hot waves, winter,
summer, &c, hut sufficient has been done to
show intAraZt 10
of this kind. The most important part of
this Investigation need be carried TO only
10000 feet, and this height can be reached
easily by men. 1t would be difficult TO ex-
a1gerate the value of the results 10 science
atcruing from thorough exploration OF the
air up to this height. Thousands of dollars
are being spent In exploring the icy wastes
of the north, from which there have come
back almost nothing but reports of
heroic endeavor and the loss of property,
while here is a far more enchanting field
for research. The air is full of theories re-
garding the conditions of storms at great
heights. Some believe they are intensely
cold. others that the same relative cond-
lions hold at great heights as at he EARTH
but there Is a lag as We come down.
The Lows md Highs.
Many believe that our lows and highs are
in the nature of electric or magnetic fields
in the atmosphere. or they may have their
origin in ether stresses brought about by
rather direct solar action. If SO, then these
conditions must continue up to great
heights. At Mt. Washington the lag of the
cold and hot waves at the earth is about
eleven hours. and the same is true at Pixies
Peak, although these points are nearly
5000 feet apart in vertical direction. This
also shows an origin in the direct action CT
radiance from the sun upon the ether
and a lag at the earth, for there would be
no appreciate lag in the 5000 feet from
Pixies Peak to lit. Washington. While II
Is important to learn the temperature CON-
ditions above US. it is vastly more impor-
tant to determine the electric conditions.
The practical advantage that would ac-
crue to farmers, mariners and others from
a better knowledge of the conditions lust
above our heads producing weather changes
can hardly be exaggerated. Many of the
uncertainties under which weather fore
casts are now made would be removed and
the science of meteorology greatly advanc-
ed. Fl. A. HAVEN
Dec. q, 1888