Evening star., 1933-01-02
PICARD STARTS
ON VISIT TO i. 5.
Stratosphere Explorer Sails
for America-Finds Work
and Play Are One.
10 The star.

..
Auouste picard. famous for his record
hreakjnp balloon aScents into the
stratosphere. who is en- route 10 lne
United States, is spontaneously spectac-
tlar His instinct for doing What mas
not been done already explains why ms
researches are interesting TO scientists
and the public alike, and why every
gesture Of his has a dramatic innectlon.
In the laboratory of his father, VINO
was professor Of physics ana cnemlStry
in the University of Basic, Wnere ne
was born in 1884, he ana ms twin
brother played with electrlcal lnstru-
ments at the age of ., ana youns
Aupuste continually surprised his 1atner
by his success at working out set prob
lens by processes undiscovered before.
The record breaking nature was al
ready forming end an old friend OF MS,
hearing Of his first flight into the
stratosphere last year, said: Inat Is
nothing neW-he has been exploring
stratospheres all his life"
Until 90. when Prof. Picard went
from Basic to Zurich, electrophysics
and chemistry commanded him to the
aycb,sion of everything else. but family
life. and even here at the hrestde, theSe
fayorite subjects we're familiar 10 all
His fathers brother had installed the
first turbines that transformed Nlag-
ara's energy into utilizable power ms
own brothers studies had until IIlei
been practically the same as ms anu
on ali sides were relatives working ~
neiphboring scientific fields, SO tnat tIlls
was pet topic.
Work and Play Are One.
Concentrated study continued at
.,,r;nI, then teaching and more study
in experimental physics learning an9
teaching 90 hand in hand. work anu
nIay are one for this physicist, VINO re-
Gently began lecture to telloW-sclen-
fists with the sentence: i must CON
pratuIate you heartily for pelng llhe
ne-that is, you have been PAID all your
lives for doing the thing that gives you
most pleasure. a. :.
The PICARD home in Brussels Is at
the far end of walled garden, three
story house with wide windows.
stones throw away is the university ana
the professors physical laooratories ies
where the stratospheric nacehe anu ~
instruments for measuring cosmlc rays
were equipped and assembled.
Seen together, this towering fatner,
his middle height, dark-featured wiIe
and their five children, one thinks OF
the church steeple in an Oio WORN
village austere and apart, with houses
budding together in its shadow
Precision is the byword OF this house
hold. The professor has no secretaIy
and the only servant Is a SWISS coullsly
civil who rms German and French SEN
fences together in conversation oilly
families like the Piccards, where THESE
languages are spoken alternately. coulo
1,ndersfand If he answers the tele-
nhone he says, PICARD! II MIME.
picard answers she merely says, Nine.
picard" and the children follow sun.
His whims are original. He drinks
nothing but water and aonorS s,noA-
ing. but despite being teetotailer LliIi- @
self he was buoyantly dengnteo W re ilsai
the end Of prohibition had been TORE
told bv the recent American elections.
He refuses to be measured by taiior,
and cuts his own hair. He disnKes
automobiles and hates travelling py ar
nlane only availing himself OF tnese
modes of TRANSPORTATION when Iney
serve to advance him toward scienIiic
goal.
Photography Is Hobby.
He Ioyes walking and mountain climb
,no and cold water bathing, and mas
often broken the ice on some SWISS
mountain lake to take plunge. ne
has never been to the opera ana never
goes to theaters or moving pntults'
II dissociated from knowledge: stflAe
him as useless. and collectors OF every,
thing from books to snuff boxes ana
period furniture are bodily olspoSeo VI
as "deluded jackasses. -
He carries a rule everywhere anu
makes measurements endlessly. Frec,-
SION ia his religion and with this rule
in sight. protruding from his pocket
Won are apt to speak with great exact
ness. for he will bring It out az the
most embarrassing times ana snow you
yolr mistake no matter VINO you aIe.
He carried this rule to a state panque. :.
given in his honor and openly useu y
to check upon the accuracy OF tne
statements made bv speakers.
He loathes fussiness and personal
adornment. he and his home are ex-
emnles Of simplicity, and his family
shares these tastes. He is not literary
scholar and Mark TWain's HucKle-
berry Finn" is the only book by an
American author he has read; his read
ing is restricted to scientific works.
Al present he is studying all WORKS
touching upon travel by rocket, 1or ne
was the first physicist TO foreteH tne
eventual possibility of rendering TINS
mode Of travel practicable, ana now
that the problem Of crossing from Paris
tn New York in six hours via the
stratosphere has been solyed-ns part
of ii at least-he is returning to con-
siderations Of rocketeering which VIII
be evolved in time to refreshen jaded
world accustomed to 800-mileS- an hour
speed Of stratoplaning. He believes
Just as ardently in the ultimate prac-
tical utility Of the rocket for travelling
at great speed as in the stratoplane.
Flyers Are Heroes.
His greatest American heroes are
Col. Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart,
because he admires pioneering cour-
age in scientific experiments. He loves
animals and possesses vast knowledge
of their habits. Often he has got down
on all fours and for a full hour amused
himself romping about with pet. HIS
delight in the company OF children Is
immeasurabIe He has five of his own
and when each Of these invites nve
others the Picard house Is literally
turned into a kindergarten, with a
chorus of wild laughter spreading all
over the neighborhood.
Undisturbed by this uproar, the pro-
fessor at plain table, without reference
books and working from his phenomenal
memory. writes away in his study on
treatise upon special seismographs, one
OF which he himself invented for the
detection Of slight earthquakes such as
frequently occur in Switzerland.
Children are welcome no matter what
he is doing and more than once ne has
put aside a scientific task to go into the
yard and repair swing or n1aate =
bicycle tire, returning to his compost
tion where he left off and continuing
as though nothing had happened. He
is neither moody nor temperamental.
but smooth h-natured and hard to ruf1e.
Prof Picard possesses a dry humor
that excites visibility in his audience
while leaving him apparently uncon-
scicus of the effect he produces. In the
class room he has a subtle faculty for
wittily illustrating his problems in ex-
perimental physics by the most SEEM
ingly opposite SMILES. He holds his
Sa.,a.r,t y. la-n.. tl,lnss NTH nr,antanIa or