Evening star., 1925-05-03
Hitting the High Spots.


HITTING the high srots is a
phrase commonly dsed and has a
wide variety of meanings In this par
ticular instance it refers to spots so
/ high that no individual has Vet been
1 able to hit them, even approximately
! 1t remained for the Weather Bureau
/ of the United States Department Of
/ Agriculture to show what high spots
really are. In order to do this that
( bureau has used what is known as a
/ meteOrOgraph
The meteorograph is an apparatus
/ for exploring the atmosphere At
! heights not attainable by other meth
DDS. Its purpose is TO record atmos-
! pheric pressure, temperature and rel
ative humidity.
The aviator who sets new world
mark when he rises in his plane To q
/ height Of Approximately seven miles
and feels a justifiable pride in his ac-
compHshment runs poor second To
! this bantam weight ace of the air
4 when il descends To earth with q
written record made by its own steel
finger of an altitude or ceiling" OF
( approximately - miles
The use of the meteOrograph began
in Europe at the Paris Exposition in
/ 1898. Since that time it has been eX-
ally with an effort toward reduction
in weight, so that il now weighs in
at the ringside at $50 grams. or about
50. ounces.
It made its first trip in this country
on September 10, 1904. during the eN-
position at st. Louis. At that time il
confined its Journeys to Missouri and
neighboring States, but has since Wis
tied other localities.
/ The meteorograph uses as its motive
power a rubber balloon inflated with
hydrogen. by means Of which il is car
ried high into the air. The balloon
will rise until it is exploded by the
expansion of the hydrogen, allowing
the meteorograph TO fall TO the earth.
II is quite obvious that this tiny ex-
plorer of the upper regions would be
shattered into a thousand bits II its
fall were not broken or its rate OF de
scent retarded before its return TO the
earth This is accomplished by means
of parachute, and injury to the IN
strument is prevented by cage or
basket in which il is inclosed. The
cage or basket is composed of three
hoops of rattan provided with cross
pieces, on which the instrument rests.
Light cords attached TO the metal
! loops on the case serve TO keep the
instrument in the center of the cage,
! where it is easily accessible Tor ADJUST
ment at any time before ascension.
Records of the temperature record
ed by the use of the meteorograph are
indeed startling. 1t has been found,
for instance, that at about six and one
quarter miles the temperature Is about
so degrees below zero Centigrade, or
about 122 degrees below zero Fahren-
heit When it is recalled that the
temperature at the North Pole during
the coldest months of the year is rare
n .ZE
| Fabrenheit the late Admiral PearY S
favorite haunt seems, by comparison,
| a halmv Summer resort. In TINS con-
| nection it is interesting to note thdL
after an altitude of seven or eight
miles is attained the temperature Is
| practically constant. Another ldSt
tending to indicate the excessive cold
! at this great altitude is that INK De
| cause of its tendency to freeze, can
| NOT he used to record the data Whlch
are the object of the flight, but m
stead an aluminium sheet, treated Win
gum camphor and covered thlnIy WIN
SCOT, serves as d substitute On th49
| sheet a steel point traces the fecoLu
of the flight. When the lnsIr ~
is returned to the Weather bur iS- ga ~
| is immersed in Shellac Tor the pun tpoo0
| of making the record permanent one
| once the ascension has begun, the
meteorograph finds itself helpless to
dictate the course of its journey. HAY
ing chosen a rubber balloon as It's mo
tive power, and being without steer
ing wheel, the direction OF It's nlsnt
depends upon the caprice or the WING
Air currents however, are generally
from the northwest, so that its trips
are largely in somewhat easterIy
direction.
The Weather Bureau has seen Mt 10
make ocean voya geS taboo because OIL
the danger of loss, so that ascenslohs
take place in the West and Midwest,
far away from large bodies OF water
to prevent air currents fr m carrying
the tiny explorer of unknown regions
out to sea.
That the meteorograph attends
strictly to business after its flight has
once begun and refuses to lolter on
it's way, is indicated by the fact that
it travels at the rate of about 100
miles per hour.
The height which it finally reaches
is dependent largely on the quality
of the sheet rubber in the balloon to
| which it has seen fit to intruSt itself.
If the rubber happens to be of poor
quality, the trip is necessarily short
one; on the other hand, with good rub
ber a long flight is practically a GER
tainty. During the aScenSlonS at ST.
Louis, some of the instruments We're
found very near the place of ascen-
sion, within five miles or so. while
others had journeyed 2S5 miles.
At the time of the ascension there
is secured to the meteorograph an
envelope on which are printed instruc-
tions to the finder to pack and return
the apparatus to the Weather Bu-
reau; and a small reward is offered
and paid for this service. 1t seems
rather remarkable that about 80 per
cent are returned intact, but this is
accounted for in part by the fact that
the parachutes used to retard the rate
of descent are made in bright colors
so as more readily to attract atten-
ton.