Evening star., 1932-10-16

readers imagination NenturcQ 10 state
| that the mere we learn about these
short. mysterious, elusive rays which
beat down on the earth, the more We
| vii be able to learn about such
tthings as radio activity, the compost
ton of atoms. the nature of energy and
aStro-physics - things OF interest to
medical men. technical engineers, as
! tronOmerS and others as well as to theo-
retiCal science.
From the purely unScientific or me-
chanical viewpoint of practical aero
nautics, it can be said that We have
learned to chart uninhabited space,
space which sooner or later may become
the "StratowayS' Ct future tranSporta-
ton and communication, much as the
ancient mariners first learned to chart
untraVeled seas.
The stretosphere, into which a short
while ago all things that breathe dared
not venture without grave risk OF HE
now can be visited comparatively easily
and absolutely safely. Every one knows
human life cannot exist without artlfi-
cial respiration at attitudes much above
10000 or 25,000 feet. At 53,672 feet it
is impossible to survive without such
respiration. both because of the lack Of
oxygen and the low atmospheric pres
sure.
The human body is made to with
stand atmoRheric pressures up to
Is. 900 or 10000 feet altitude. Pressure
of half an atmosphere can be born COM
fortably This is ab3ht 17.490 feet.
Heights between $4,000 ard 27000 feet
have been borne without artificial res
piration. Over that man cannot go.
unless incloSed in an air-tight cabin.
provided with oxygen and protected
from cold or heat.
During my first ascension Ripper and
I faced death as a result Of the failure
of our valve cords to function. The
recent flight has shown that. mechani-
caliy speaking. trips into the strato-
sphere can be safely made. The mer-
curry valve I devised worked perfectly.
Navigation of the balloon also proved
as simple as one could desire. We
learned that a silvered cabin was as
undesirable as black one. In the
black cabin We suffered from heat a
year ago; this time, in a silver cabin.
We were forced to endure cold at a
temperature of Is degrees below zero
centigrade, while outside the cabin the
thermometer stood between SO and 60
degrees below. centigrade 80 degrees
below zero centigrade is equivalent to
76 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.
But to get back to cosmic radiation,
the study of which was the primary
object of the ascent. and to sum up
only the principal questions which re-
main unanswered thus far.
Where, How and WHAT
Where are cosmic rays produced?
How are coSm.c rays produced?
What is the nature of cosmic radia-
ton?
The theoretical physicist undoubtedly
approaches. an answer to these ques-
tions once the eXperimenter has sue
ceeded, with high degree of accuracy,
in determining some of the properties
of cozmic rays.
COsyns and sought to determine the
intensity and SO far as possible the di-
rection from which cosmic rays come
at various attitudes in the free at
moSphere.
My first ascent, May 81, 1881, was
not entirely unp-oductive OF results in
this direction, although We were unable
then to make all the scientific meas
urementS called for by our program
The FNRS climbed very rapidly in that
ascent Manipulation of the balloon,
economically speaking. was quite diff
cult. We were. however. to learn that
the FNRS could climb into the high al
titudes, that measurements could be
taken and most important, We learned
through experience how to assure
smooth working of any program that
might be mapped out.
In this years ascent We naturally
profted from previous errors. We
climbed slowly, under perfect conditions,
Cosyns busying himself with his instru-
ments almost as soon as we had left the
ground We remained aloft as long as
| necessary, although We could easily and
comfortably have remained up longer
had there not been the prospect of drift
ing out over the Adriatic Sea or the
| Mediterranean. Consequently, it might
be said that our aeronautic objectives
were fully attained.
In our study of cosmic radiation we
reasoned that if cosmic radiation
reaches us out of cosmic space and if ii
| is homogeneous, an observer in an
ascending balloon should notice an in
crease in reactions according to an i'm