Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-09
SCIENTIST TO SOAR
TO SHAKESPEARE
Disciple of Einstein Plans
Record Ascent to Study
Cosmic Rays.

BY the Associated Press.
AUGSBURG, Germany, September 8.
A tall, lank, quiet physicist hopes to
| take-off this week in the largest balloon
| ever built and ny twice as high as the
peak Of Mount Everest to make Scien-
tific observations in the stratosphere, as
| the UNEMPLOYED upper region OF the
| earth's atmosphere is called by scien-
lists.
Auguste Picard, disciple of Albert
| Einstein, will attempt to fly these
| heights with a companion, Charles Kip
fer, and will risk his life to make OBJ
servations in atmospheric levels never
before visited by man.
Most of the knowledge Of the stratos-
phere, the atmospheric regions more
| than So miles above the earth's sur
face, has so far been obtained through
use of sounding balloons without pas
sengers, by study of electromagnetic
| radiation and by pouring over spectrum
photographs Of the Aurora Borealls.
80 Meters in Diameter.
To gain an impression of the size OF
the balloon Picard will use, 1t may be
stated that it is 80 meters In diameter,
whereas the Gordon-Bennett balloons
are IS meters in diameter. Piccards
balloon will contain $4,000 cubic meters
of gas whereas the rdon-Bennett PAL
looms contain 1900.
To replace the customary basket-lke
gondola, Picard, who is also an eng1-
neer, constructed a hollow aluminium
ball 7 feet In diameter and weighing
22O pounds. There will be hardly room
for Picard, his companion and their
vast array of scientific instruments 10
get inside the gondola.
Picard, an experienced balloonist,
already has made IL scientific flights.
On one of these he tested certain
phases Of the Einstein RELATIVELY theory.
Kipfer, on the contrary, has never been
in q balloon.
Has But One Purpose.
Picard sharply rejected a suggestion
that he might be after the world alti-
tude record.
II have but one purpose" he said.
''It is to study cosmic rays. In about
80 minutes after leaving earth We ex-
pect to reach the StratoSphere, where
we desire to determine whether the
cosmic rays will strike the balloon only
vertically or whether there are lateral
components to be taken into account"
DR.. Picard expects to land some
where within 800 miles OF Augsburg.
Should things go wrong, he has para
chutes for himself and his companion.
There Is also huge parachute for the
g0ndola, so That the SclenClnc lnSCru-
ments may descend gently and land
unbroken.
Realizing from the fate of other bal
loonists that the human organism fails
above IL, 500 meters altitude (more than
$500 feet), Picard has built his
aluminium gondola alright. The air
inside will be regenerated on the princi-
pal used in submarines. A supply of
liquid oxygen also will be taken along.
In GondOla Eight Hours.
"Kipfer and last Sunday locked our
selves up in the gondola for eight hours
and played chess" said DIR. Picard in
discussing his plans. Our only dis
comfort was due to the heat, but of
course, in the shakespeare well have
plenty of cold"
Both the scientists intend not only to
take the heaviest of clothing but also
will cover their bodies with a thick
coating of fat to protect themselves
against the cold.
DR.. Picard wrote his doctors thesis
at Zurich University under Dr. Einstein's
direction. His wife, left at home In
Brussels, is confident of his success.
They have four children.