Evening star., 1939-07-30
BY THOMAS r. HENRY,
Star Stan Correspondent.

BRUSSELS (By Yankee Clipper
-Descension in a steel balloon
from S to 7 miles to the bottom of
the sea is planned next spring by
DR.. August Picard, University of
Brussels physicist, who 10 years ago
was the first human being to ascend
into the stratosphere IA miles above
the surface of the earth.
Prof. Picard already has con-
:. structed in his laboratory here mod
/, els of the metal shell in which he
expects to reach with minimum of
risk depths hitherto undreamed of
and to open the way for exploration
of a realm almost totally unknown
to man whose deep valleys of total
darkness may be the abode of
strange, primitive monsters or the
place of vast gold deposits.
The Columbus of Space'-as the
tall Belgian professor, with his
hinged spectacles, was termed few
years ago-is determined to become
the first human being to enter a far
more mysterious realm and is conf
dent that both himself and the COM
panion he selects to accompany him
will return to the tealms of light
alive and unharmed
Principles Reversed.
The sea balloon is based on essen
TALLY the same principles as the
spheroid shell in which he made his
supposedly fantastic flight into the
fncpharo ht1t with III -,
reverse. He has constructed two
models. One, a hollow ball made of
electron-a combination of magne-
SUM and aluminum-has been given
rigid tests under high pressures such
as one would expect to encounter at
sea depths of S miles. The other,
made of steel, stands, experimentally
pressures such as will be encountered
at depths of miles.
The idea of exploring these great
depths, Prof. Picard says, first came
to him shortly after he had as
founded the world with his strato-
sphere fight, but the difficulties
which confronted him were enor-
nous. 1t would be easy enough to
get to the sea bottom, but he had
to devise some way to get back
alive and in every respect the
problems were exactly the reverse
of those he had solved in his upper
air shell
With the models he has con-
structed heavy pieces of iron bal
last would be attached to the out
side of the balloon" by magnetic
attraction, the force of which can
be controlled from the interior.
The speed of the actual descent be-
low certain critical depths could
be controlled by water chambers
shut off from the main compart-
ments of the strange depth ship,
which can be filled and emptied at
will by valves situated on the in
side. The electrical storage bat
teries, which will supply light and
power as we'll as provide a feeble
current fer maintaining the mag
netic attraction to hold the bal
last, also will be attached to the
outside of the shell and will con-
stitute the last bit of ballast to be
dropped off in case of an extreme
emergency. Such an emergency,
Prof. Picard said, would be that of
getting caught in a tangle of sea-
weed near the surface after a sue
eessful ascension.
Equipment to. Purify Air.
Inside the ball, Prof. Picard plans
TO carry much the same type of
equipment as he used in his strato-
sphere flight. There will be equip
ment for purifying the air and tanks
carrying reserve of oxygen. The
dimensions of the great, air-filled
ball will be such that, with the
weight varied by letting out and
taking in sea water, it will be pos
sible to float freely at any depth
where the explorers find something
interesting to observe, the balloon
being waited about freely by the
water currents just as his strato-
sphere ball was at the mercy of the
upper air currents.
The most difficult problem to