Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1919-11-02
MANS HIGHEST FLIGHT
LEADS TO CONJECTuREs
no Man Ever Before Got rs Far
From Center OF Earth as
$3.50, ROhlfS.
UNNAMED BALLOONS HIGHER
Air1nan's Powerful Propeller Could
Not Lift Him Single Yard Farther
When lie Reached Peak of His
Tremendous Ascent.

Roland Rohlts' achievement in fore
ing his airplane to height OF $3.50
feet cover six and 4 half miles) leads
TO many interesting considerations
No man ever before got as far as that
away from the center Of our planet.
Yet unnamed balloons have been sent
AZ least ono sounding balloon" has
gone 20 height of $1,000 feet. or
about sixteen miles. and many have
ton. The height reached by these bal
looms was asCeriained in precisely the
way way n, n "nlch g NohI| as'ermnsd ne
rometers carried BY the balloon auto
pheric pressure experienced. the point
of lowest pressure corresponding, of
course, with that OF highest elevation
Work OF Instruments.
These INSTRUMENTS do their assigned
work when there is no eye near to
watch them, although il is the cum
ming OF the human brain that they
Rohlts says ,hat at the peak of his
the Hottest mountain on the earth by
more than mile. his powerful pro-
pellers were una bic TO litt him yard
This is not surprising when we con-
slider that AZ an elevation OF six and
half miles the density OF the air Is
reduced to less than onequarter of
what II Is at or near sea level. Trying
TO ny an airplane in air so rare as
that would be like trying to swim in
"a liquid one-Quarter as dense as water.
Resorted to Oxygen
It Is not surprising. either. that he
had continually to resort 10 his artin-
GA supply Of oxygen Tor, while tho
the same at all levels. owing to the
law Of equal diffusion OF gases. the
expansion, is so great. becomes too lit
tie to maintain the life processes. The
sau OF temperature that he observed.
sufficiently protected him. was about
IN accord with the general rule of one
degree decrease for every $50 feet OF
Tho extent OF the view over the
earth,s surface that lay beneath him
was the greatest ever offered to human
eyes. At an elevation OF six and one
mar miles the depression OF the ra-
tional horizon becomes about three de-
EreeS hfteen minutes. without regard
and the distance of the verge OF the
horton 7. ,I' al aro oy6, from the Observer
atrplane, at the top OF its climb. was
the apex OF cone six and one half
circle Of the earth's surface l,444 miles
IN circuit containing an area of about
$4,000 square milcs-ovcr four times
that OF the State of Ohio.
Smaller Dctnils Lost.
or course at such distances all the
smaller details were lost. and even
directly below. only six and one half
miles down; small objects. like men.
10 the naked eye. This forms an in
tercsting commentary on the curious
notion that ma snifyinE power OF a
lew thousand diameters ought TO max
As a matter of fact a maEnifyine
power OF 10000 diameters which ha 3
never been obtained or even approach
ed with any telescope, would still
leave the moon at an apparent distance
OF about twenty-four miles from the
eye, at which distance, with the clear
esq view, 1t would be practically i'm
possible 20 recognize even tho largest
buildings.
Can Only he Imagined.
The impressiveness Of view en-
I 9asaHihs ~ IN "a a single circuit about
reach of Rohlfs eyes. may be Imagined
out cannot be described. With a din
o. the horizon amounting to only
would still be deceived by the an
parent elevation OF the outer edge or
tne vast circle. SO that the portion OF
inc earth within the range OF vision
would have the look OF an immense
basin. instead OF what il really was
q considerable part of the convex sur
face OF sphere 5000 miles in dia-
1t would be necessary TO be Mt a
heisht equall!nS a considerable irac-
tlon OF the earth's radius before the
Io ot9ay OF the huge globe became
10 rise to an elevation of about $50
mules in order TO look down a slope
Of 10 degrees to '4s horizon. and as
be about a 1908 niles: so " sIirh men n
slope would hardly suggest a globu-,r
shape. And at height OF $50 miles
ane ar must he rarer than any vacuum
CHamO that we ca make.