A NEW ASCENT

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 586, 18 July 1933, Page 3

A NEW ASCENT

PICCARD'S ASSISTANT A VENTURE IN STAGES WITH USE OF TWO BALLOONS. TO STUDY COSMIC RADIATION. Max Cosyns, the young Belgian scientist who made the balloon ascent into th'e stratosphere as Professor Auguste Piccard's assistant last year, when they reached a record altitude of 16,5090 metres (57,750ft), and came down at Desenzano, in Italy, is preparing to make another such attempt to study cosmic radiation (states a Brussels statement). Professor Piccard will not participate in this fiight but Monsieur Cosyns will h'ave another Belgian physdcist. Jacques de Bruyne, assisting him. The ascent will be made in the balloon F.N.R.S., so named from the initials of the Fonds Nati'onal de la Recherche Sci'entifique (National Scientific IRlesearch Fund) which is financing the enterprise. This balloon was used by Professor Piccard in his ascent from Dubendorf in 1932 and his first stratoscoperic flight from Augsroug in 1931. The gondola will he new and will be constructed from a new metal, a. maignesium alloy, which is 30 p'er cent. lighter in weight and has 50 per cent. greater resistance than the metal formerly used. Alternative Plans. This time Monsieur Cosjms wants to make his ascent in stages, with stops at the respective altitudes of -aipproximately 13,400ft, 20,000ft, 28,000ft, and 30,000ft. He is tlh'erefore at present engaged in determining the best means for making these suops. He is considering two methods. The first consists in using two balloons, the F.N.R.S. (14,000cubic feet) and the Belgica (2200 cub'ic metres, or approximately 77,000 cubic feet). The last-named would be suspended beneath the larger balloon and would serve as a brake in making the stops. The second method would necessitate the fitting into the F.N.R.S. of a large tube. 3ft 6in to 8ft 9in in diameter and about 40ft long, which could be opened at the top by means of valves and could be raised by the aeronauts in such a manner as to allow the requisite escape of gas. Experiments with the second method are heing made, first of all, with the trial balloon, Belgica. If they are successful, the process will be applied to the F.N.R.S. It is this second method, utilising the tube, which, judging from results up to the present, is the. more likely to he adopted. In that case only one balloon, as on the previous occasions, would he used for the ascent. This Month or Next. The taking-off place will he a field near Hour Havenne, in the village of Herocq, near Ciergnon (Lesse Valley), not far from Beauradng, in the province of Namur. The ascent will take place early in July. if the weather is favourable. In any case, the flight will not be made later than September 1. New features of this aiscent will be the ballast , lightning and measuring apparatus. The ballast will be plaeed in bags which will be suspended round the gondola on the outside, in such a manner that they can be thrown off, by the aeronauts seated within the gondola, by means of cartridges each containing two grammes of explosives. The explosions will take place outside the chamber by electrical control from

J within it. The cartridges, on explosion, will cut the cords and let fall the ballast. The ballast itself will consist of 2000 kilos (about 44001b) of sand, and not of lead shot, as hitherto. There will be an electrie lamp of 200 kilowatts, or a million candlepower, for the purposes of photographing the cosanic rays. | On Professor Piccard's last ascent | into the stratosphere it was provied that . the cosmic rays consisted of three or , four elements, and it has therefore , been found necessary to use, on this j occasion, several different measuring ' apparatus in order to estimate the exten't of the individual kinds of rays, theix direction and penetrative power. i M. Cosyns and his asslistant are at present engaged in the prepOraticn of the necessary instrumenits.