Martinsburg journal. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1920-1977, 1921-09-26


ger in the use OF an infamablc g1R
like hydrogen in balloons and The
advantages in substituting tha
harmless heium when the supply
makes its use practicable accord
ing to bulletin issued by the Ma
tional Geographic Society.
Quoting from communicative
70 the Society by the late G Sbcf.
aurne Rogers, the bulletin says:
The qualities of helium that
'aake 1t so valuable for use in bal
Ioons are its liGhtness and its in
combustibility. lIolium is the
lightest of the sa-ralcd inar, gases
which dc not combine with oSyeen
II any other substance and there
ore cannot explode OF burn
One Bullet Can Get" Hyaroccn
Balloon.
Hydrogen the gas cor monty used
= filling balloons, is, Gil the Other
3and. highly inhammab.e. Many
sreat balloon, or rigid airship. cost-
ing hundreds OF thousands OF dol
lars 70 construct. has hoon de-
stroyed by fire in few minutes
ONE by lightning, sCme by sparks
rom the motor, and others by any
one OF the numero accidents that
nay happen even when the ..tft is
ii its hangar.
In military balloons or airships
the fire hazard is, OF course, graat-
y increased, single we'll placed
lncendiary bullet being sufficient to
transform the whole costly struc-
ture into a mass of fafmes; and in
this event the fate Of the crew is
practically sealed This weakness
inherent in all hydrogen-feld bal
looms, was not only a potent factor
IN the practical failure of the Ger !
man Zeppelin program, but has al
ways been a drawback To tho dc. /
yelopment 0f the lighter-than air I
raft. /
With the fire hazard complete /
~ eliminated by the use Of hcl.
ium, however the risks of balloon
ing are greatly decreased and maAv
new possibilities open up. The
rower plant of the airship may be
Ylaced as close as desired to the
enart,c and Nv ,t,,,s ,' r,a,, INV 81 a. 1o
-, ,,'o.o 49,, ,m'i 49, .a5,,.;
the wind resistance. the speed and
cruising radius of the craft may be
increased.
Sparks Harmless With Helum.
In military shrships machine
.'"bs may ne mounted direety on
me eife'oPe lhSteaa OF belnS tucI-
Ell away IN me sohaoias' as lar as
possible from the oaneefoUs SaS;
@aa' on 'ae 'ther hlha, an oan&er
6. attack VIA IneehelafE bullets
{, - i ear. LIS Is net simply
'AsV'' s'8 nave noen conducted
Ih m"ugi oa!ooaS nI!eo Win mel
''in. anu an eHpjiN 10 eApl2de taem
e' hT.hh tPem On with ineeh1l'
'-'% o1I- IS l%|e'' +
acre IS 4l""yS a CnahVF III
lno.fahd mat an ahll-alrcFall sneH
mlgn' cNHoQo directly within the
NN2i- oc' ana II might also DC pos
ole +" biiDs down helium-iiiled
D&ACCh hE H'N hg an arplane
tnro Th 81 bodily.
5.a oa-y '4ai2rt disadvantage
9t hIl'im IS - l4ct that II is
:. }o,I Twice IS heavy as hydrogen.
4to c00'r ieet o. hehum weighing
80 cihses and the same volume OF
only > ounces. Both gases
EoE er' are so oNeaedinSly light I
IN comparison WIN air (whlch .
weighs pounds per 100 cubic feeD
thlt this is of little practical i'm
portauce, the buoyaney or lifting ,
power, OF haiium being % per cent
that OF hydrogen. Moreover, This /
greater weight has its compcnsa-
ton, for hydrogen is 20 light that ,
it passes through the walls OF the /.
gas bag and escapes at far more /
rapid rate than helium.
Discovered e3 Million Miles Away.
BY means OF the spectroscope, the
bulletin points out, helium was dis
covered on the sun in 1865 1t was
not until 1895, however, that it was
known 10 exist on the earth, and
1t was then believed to be a very
rare element 1t was when helium
was discovered in 1903 to constitute
between one and two percent of the
millions OF cubic feet OF natural gas
going TO waste in Kansas, that its
nse for Initiating balloons first be
came possibility; but no one seems
TO have thought Of such a use for.
he newly found gas until after the /