THE PARACHUTE LIGHT BALL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4611, 31 December 1875, Page 3

THE PARACHUTE LIGHT BALL.

(From Cassdl’s Technical Educator for September.)

It consists of a thin wrougbt-iron shell, containing two half shells of wrought iron, the lower of which contains a brilliantly burning composition of saltpetre, sulphur, and reel orpiment, and the upper a calico parachute, the lower part of which is attached by chains to the composition hemisphere. The shell, fitted with a fuse, is fired from a mortar. The fuse is timed to explode a small bursting charge when the shell attains its maximum elevation over the area or object required to be illuminated. On the explosion of the bursting charge the outer shell is opened, and the two inner hemispheres begin falling. The lower hemisphere, which contains the composition, being the heavier, falls more rapidly than the other, which has, indeed, received a momentary impulse by the action of the bursting charge in the opposite direction. This jerlc, and the more rapid falling of the composition hemisphere, causes the calico parachute to be pulled out and expanded, and it then floats the composition hemisphere slowly down over the object to be illuminated, the composition burning brightly out of a hole at the bottom of the hemisphere for from one to three minutes, according to size. In addition to overcoming all the difficulties and objections enumerated above as belonging to the ground lightball, the parachute light ball possesses the advantages of being serviceable at sea, or to illuminate an enemy’s fleet, which the ground light ball necessarily cannot be. It can also be fired from a very light and handy mortar. This construction of projectile has been very effectively employed for firework purposes.