Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-05-17
EXPLORING THE ATMOSPHERE
One of the Days Best Cartoons.
BY FREDERIC J. HAsKIN

[ III FREDER
WASHINGTON, y. c.. May Jeff
you should see n rubber balloon about
ten feet in diameter wandering over
your farm or your fat. keep your eye
on II until II either falls or disappears
In due course IL will blow up, and an
aluminium box containing a complicated
scientific instrument and message
Will he gently waited to earth by
parachute. The message will be from
the United States Weather Bureau, and
will inform the finder that for tho re-
turn Of the instrument and tho remains
OF the balloon he will receive 81 and
the thanks Of his government
These rubber balloons are tho means
by which the government meteorol
oEists are exploring the great upper
spaces far above the most daring
flights OF aircraft. They are sending
their instruments higher than any
thing from the hand OF man has ever
gone before. and are discovering
hitherto unsupported facts about the
winds and temperatures OF the upper
atmosphere. Some OF these exploring
balloons have been twenty miles above
the surface Of the earth Some of them
travc! 800 miles. and some OF them
not more than twenty before bursting
Ninety-fve per cent of them are found
and returned.
Each balloon Is made of the finest
rubber, and when IL starts on its
travels is about seven feet in diameter
AS II rises the diminishing pressure
OF the atmosphere causes the gas with
which II is filled 10 expand until the
balloon is nineteen or twenty feet in
diameter: and finally it bursts.
Over the balloon is draped para
chute. which IS flung wide OPENLY the
bursting gas bag, and bears the
precious records OF the flight safely 10
earth
Records InErnIomsly Made.
The machine which makes these
records has been worked out by the
government men in their own labora-
tories, and is "a most ingenious device
II can be sent on "A long flight all
alone and trusted to make accurate
records OF temperature. pressure and
humidity.
Temperature and pressure are re-
corded by pens which are actuated hv
hollow springs That is. a piece OF
steel tube is slightly fattened and bent
TO form spring. shaped something
like horse shoe. The more tn. spring
Is bent tn" fiatter II becomes. and. CON
Sequently, the smaller it's capacity
IF the balloon reaches stratum of hot
air. the rising temperature will cxpand
the alcohol still more, forcing the ends
OF the springs still wider apart on tho
other hand. If the temperature falls
g.
and the ends Of the spring will he
allowed to come together Thus i'm
the movements OF the spring every
change Of temperature is recorded
The end OF the spring is connected
with steel pen, the point Of which
rests upon a sheet Of smoked alumni
mum. on which the pen scratches tho
whole temperature record for the
hight. Smoked aluminium mus, he used
because INK would freeze in the upper
spaces.
The aluminium sheet is wrapped
about revolving drum, which ;s
actuated by clock work SO ,h,, {,
VIII make one revolution per hour
Air is measured by this same nr;p
cipie or the hollow spring. In this "a SO
II Is hiled with air AT the surface
or the earth. and as the pressure d.
mihlshes or increases. the air inside
the spring expands and contracts ex-
actly as the alcohol responds to tenn
pera tnre. The same kind Of n pen re-
cords the results IN Its own column on
the aluminium blackboard
Human Hair Also Used.
For the measurement Of the amount
OF moisture in the air, exactly the
same principle is employed that makes
q girls hair curly in wet weather
y number OF human hairs are stretched
between two points. one of which is
delicately movable. Their susceptible
ity to the influence Of humidity is
increased by extracting all Of the oil
from them. In this condition they
Will respond to the slightest change
in humidity. and the record scratched
on the aluminium by another tiny pen.
With this instrument is a revolving
cylinder bearing the aluminium record
page. and the whole business is nut in
metal box. Before being sent up
all of these devices arc carefully cal
ibrated" in an airproof chamber-that
is. they are adjusted under various
conditions artiicially produced so that
they Will record accurately and uni
formly.
The weather man will get from this
little mechanical observer all the data
as to temperature, pressure and humi-
| dity: but II VIII give him nothing as
! to the speed Of the wind or the exact
! position OF the balloon. These things
are asccrtained by Watching the bal
| loon AZ long AS possible through two
| theodoltes. a theodolite nigh, be dc.
| scribed as movable periscope com
bined with telescope. With your
eye at one end, you can move the
| other so az to follow the flying bal.
| loon. Having two observation. points.
| the scientist is able TO get certain angles
| and from these, with the aid of To-
garithms. and other mysteries OF the
| scientific mind, he is able to figure
out just how high up that balloon Is.
and how fast it is going
These balloon explorations are. per-
haps, the most spectacular investira-
| tons that the weather bureau has
ever undertaken, and they have re-
l vealed some strange things about the