The sun., 1909-02-21

acts as, a spring buher 20 a too SUDDEN
drop by tightening the balloon OF the
| weight OF the rope on the ground; helps
as TO keep constant low level In land
ing, he turns TO his instruments.
Down, down. down IL goes, 800 feet
Of it. "Why not let il dropi" you wonder
fearfully, and ask. 1T would Jerk the bal
loon down soft might break something
Drop seventy pounds 800 feet and then
halt il suddenly and something would
happenl' You are mortified Balloon
ing has taken your wits. You might
have thought Of that for Yourself
You look, timorously, straight down.
Beneath you is a rivera slender, silver
thread, and those dots-can they be
horizon and hundred things deck the
plain between you and IL that you are
going to examine in q minute-as soon
as you get your breath
Suddenly-a miracle of natlre-like
the breaking Of the butterfly from the
clogging shreds Of the cocoon, your soul
bursts from your fear-yee, though you
would not admit it-your fear, and you
want TO shout and exult and even dance
in the feeling Of freedom that is yours
and at the truly wonderful spectacle
laid out maplike for you to see
Look" says your companion, pointing.
-Looki See that round, moving shadow
That's our shadow! We must be going
about ten miles en- hour. Look! Look!
See II pass that horse on the road?"
You look. and it ia so; and you guess.
moving shadow OF the balloon Ia good
gauge OF its speed.
Your pilot has his gaze riveted upon
little instrument and he is lingering q
little rubber tube. 1t is the statoscope.
an Arrangement like an ear drum, as ho
explains IL. and the tube Is the tube
communicating with the outer air.
When il il squeezed erd the air COD
fined the sensitive wells Of the -eer
drum bend IN or out as the outside
pressure decreases or increases. which Is
as you go up or down. Connected with
hard, this sensitive rubber membrane
marks a sure indication OF your vertical
motion which. IL II il slow, is quite i'm
possible TO ascertain, except In q long
period Of time, by any other means.
1t is very necessary 70 know II you
are rising or falling. Your balloon is
never still vertically. 1t Is practically
always going up or coming down. The
least variation in temperature. a passing
breeze, or a cloud covering the sun. end
the gas cools. contracts and you fall.
The least increase in temperature, q
warmer air current. the sun shining forth
again. and up you 60.
Little harm will reach you going up.
but fall IL not checked may land you
on earth where and when and how you
would rather notl SO when the little
hand points to the down side. erd
continues to point there, the pilot with
q little scoop ladies' out sand few ounces
ct a time In the cese Of smell downward
movement. until the motion is checked.
At an altitude of a mile and a quarter
you look over the side without any sense
Ia ngI L..
first seems as fiat as q pancake; no hills.
no valleys.
Then you notice that II is more like
great bowl. The horizon seems on a level
with your eyes as horizons always do.
Then suddenly. you have no horizon at
al. II is blotted out. By a thunder
cloud? No, a dust ring which the pilot
explains.
II seems that you are on level with the
top Of that part Of the atmosphere which
holds most Of the dust OF the earth. The
top Of this dust is sharply defined and
clearly visible when you are sufficiently
near it's top TO see the difference between
lis blue gray and the deep blue OF the sky.
While you are looking down you be-
come cons:ious of breeze and you won
der why you haven't noticed 1t before.
The pilot, busy with his statoscope. calls
over his shoulder to throw out some paper
and you tear up an envelope and drop the
pieces outside. They promptly fy up
INTO the balloon.
Sec thaty' says the pilot. "We are
falling rather rapidly. The sun is over
cast
II is true Faster and faster the sand |
9 thrown over and nearer and nearer the !
sarth comes Almost three bags go out |
and you have descended from a height |
II 4. 500 to 200 feet before the statoscope |
hand wavers and very slowly turns to the
Upside. At the same moment the sun
zones out and the balloon bounds up
sard-up 20 1900 feet. where you stop.
You see, says the pilot. I'VE threw out
/ hundred and fifty pounds Of sand to
the contracted gas. We had
he same amount OF gas, but it was smaller
,ur original bulk. but as we are ii0 pounds
lighter we go higher Swallow. II your
,ars ring.
Ring they do. badly. They, too,
ire little statoscopes in principle. al
hough without a registering hand and
,nly by swallowing can you quickly ad-
ust the pressure so that inside the head
md outside the air is equally dense
You notice that the sun il hot. oh. very
lot, yet you can see your breath. You
ook at your comrades and find them red
Il skin and your own face burns. De-
,rived Of its dust, the air transmits all the
lelt Of the sun, absorbing but little. The
Ipper air temperatures are cool, your
thermometer registering only 40 F.. al
hough II is summer.
What would happen, you ask, If l
hould dance and joggle the balloon?"
Try it, says the pilot
You execute a cautious wiggle, holding