Part 7 (1/2)
It was the year 1862, and the scientific world in England deter observational work in connection with balloons
There had been aof the British association at Wolverhampton, and, under their auspices, and with the professional services of Thooe, Mr Creswick, of Greenwich Observatory, was commissioned to make a lofty scientific ascent with a Cremorne balloon The atte condemned, an application was made to Mr coxwell to provide a suitable craft, and to undertake itscommittee were Colonel Sykes, MP, Dr Lee, and Mr Jaentlemen and the experienced aeronaut soon er than any in existence was needed for the work in hand But here a fatal obstacle presented itself in lack of funds, for it transpired that the grant voted was only to be devoted to trial ascents
It was then that Mr coxwell, with characteristic enterprise, undertook, at his own cost, to build a suitable balloon, and, moreover, to have it ready by Midsuenerous, offer; for it was now March, and, according to Mr coxwell's statement, if silk were employed, the preparation and manufacture would occupy six months and cost not less than L2,000 The fabric chosen was a sort of A efforts the task was performed to time, and the balloon forwarded to Wolverha 55 feet in diaround, with a capacity of 93,000 cubic feet But the best feature in connection with it was the fact that Mr Glaisher himself was to make the ascents as scientific observer
No ti to work, but twice over the chosen days were unsuitable, and it was not till July 17th that the two colleagues, of whoot away at 930 am with their balloon only two-thirds full, to allow of expansion to take place in such a lofty ascent as was contemplated And, when it is considered that an altitude of five entle his maiden ascent that day showed remarkable endurance and tenacity of purpose--the all-i work before hi far into the sky in the ENE The story of the voyage we must leave in Mr Glaisher's hands
Certain events, however, associated with other aeronauts, which had already happened, and which should be considered in connection with the new draly herefro across country of a fallen and still half-inflated balloon has already been sufficiently illustrated, and needs little further discussion It is co restively under atheround But, as has already been pointed out, the power of the wind on the globe is vastly increased when the silk beco sail Various means to deal with this difficulty have been devised, one of these being an e valve, in addition to the ordinary valve, consisting of an arrange in the upper part of one of the gores, so that on reaching earth the balloon e a quantity of gas as to render dragging iether without drawbacks, one of these being the confusion liable to arise fro more than one valve line to reckon with To obviate this, it has been suggested that the eency line should be of a distinctive colour
But an experiuard to somewhat of this nature was attended with fatal consequence in the year 1824 A Mr Harris, a lieutenant in the British Navy, ascended frole Tavern, City Road, with a balloon fitted with a contrivance of his own invention, consisting of a large hinged upper valve, having within it a s that, should the operation of the smaller outlet not suffice for any occasion, then the shutter of the larger opening as
Mr Harris took with hi lady, Miss Stocks by na late May--was favourable for an aerial voyage; for, with full reliance on his apparatus, he left his grapnel behind, and was content with such assistance as the girlbefore the balloon was found descending, and with a rapidity that seemed somewhat to disturb the aeronaut; and when, after a re-ascent, effected by a discharge of ballast, another decided doard tendency ensued, Mr Harris clearly realised that so the cause
The story subsequently told by the girl was to the effect that when the balloon was descending the second time she was spoken to by her unfortunate coo 'Clap! clap!' and Mr Harris said he was afraid it was bursting, at which I fainted, and knew no a that he observed the balloon, which was descending with great velocity, strike and break the head of an oak tree, after which it also struck the ground Hurrying up, he found the girl insensible, and Mr Harris already dead, with his breast bone and several ribs broken The explanation of the accident given by Mr Edward Spencer is alike convincing and instructive This eminently practical authority points out that the valve lines must have been made taut to the hoop at the tilobular
Thus, subsequently, when froated, the valve line would becoradual manner as to escape the notice of the aeronaut Miss Stocks, far fro unnerved by the terrible experience, actually made three subsequent ascents in company with Mr
Green
It deserves mention that another disaster, equally instructive, but happily not attended with loss of life, occurred in Dublin in 1844 to Mr Hampton, who about this ties He evidently was possessed of admirable nerve and decision, and did not hesitate towind blowing sea-wards, and in spite ofhier he fully realised, nised that the headland on which he hoped to alight was not in the direction of the wind's course Resolved, however, on gratifying the crowd, Mr Hampton ascended rapidly, and then with equal expedition commenced a precipitate descent, which he accomplished with skill and without mishap But the as still boisterous, and the balloon sped onward along the ground towards fresh danger unforeseen, and perhaps not duly reckoned with Ahead was a cottage, the chimney of which was on fire A balloonist in these circule s howany such obstacle The writer on one occasion was, in the judgerous proxianshi+re, then in full blast; yet it was a fact that that vast vent of flame and s car It may have been thus, also, with Mr
Haer when his balloon blew up ”with an awfully grand explosion,” and he was reduced to the extre thesilk and ropes
The awful predica into the sea, which has been illustrated already, and which will recur again in these pages, was ably and successfully ham, who made an afternoon ascent fro Snake Island at nightfall, where, owing to the gathering darkness, he felt constrained to open his valve He quickly co into the sea, and ithin ten feet of the water, turned the ”detaching screhich connected the car with the balloon The effect of this was at once to launch hi still able to keep control over the valve, he allowed just enough gas to remain within the silk to hold the balloon above water He then betook himself to the paddles hich his craft was provided, and reached Snake Island with the balloon in tow Here he seeood use for a further portion of his very conal rocket, he presently brought a four-oared gig to his succour fro of the above incident is h If it should be contethened travel anywhere within possible reach of the sea-board--and this must apply to all parts of the British Isles--it must become a wise precaution, if not an absolute necessity, to adopt some for place in the sea Sufficient confirmation of this statee acco the partnershi+p of Messrs Glaisher and coxwell, one which would certainly have found the travellers in far less jeopardy had their car been convertible into a boat We have already seen how essential Wise considered this expedient in his own bolder schemes, and it may further be ned with the intention of
The ballooning exploits which, however, we have now to recount had quite another and more special object consistently in view--that of scientific investigation; and ould here preations will depend on a due understanding of the attendant circumstances, as also of the constant characteristic behaviour of balloons, whether despatched for ard the actual path of a balloon in space when being manoeuvred in the e read of in Mr Glaisher's own accounts This part is in most cases approximately indicated in that most attractive volu a sectional presentes; but a little corams
It has been common to assert that a balloon poised in space is the ht ht of the air it displaces, and since the density of the air decreases according to a fixed law, a of 01 inch for every 90 feet, it follows, theoretically, that if a balloon is poised at 1,000 feet above sea level, then it would not be in equilibriuht and voluher it , and, if lower, then it must ascend till it reaches its true level; and, more than that, in the event of either such excursion mere impetus would carry it beyond this level, about which it would oscillate for a short time, after the manner of the pendulum This is substantially true, but it must be taken in connection with other facts which have a far greater influence on a balloon's position or motion
For instance, in the volume just referred to it is stated by M Gaston Tissandier that on one occasion when aloft he threw overboard a chicken bone, and, i a barometer, had to admit on ”clearest evidence that the bone had caused a rise of from twenty to thirty yards, so delicately is a balloon equipoised in the air” Here, without pausing to calculate whether the discharge of an ounce or so would suffice to cause a large balloon to ascend through ninety feet, it may be pointed out that the record cannot be trustworthy, from thesubjected to other potent influences, which necessarily affect its position in space In daytime the sun's influence is an all-ihtly or partially hidden by clouds, a slight difference in obscuration will have a ready and ain, a balloon in transit may pass almost momentarily from a warmer layer of air to a colder, or vice versa, the plane of de very definite and abrupt, and in this case altitude is at once affected; or, yet again, there are the descending and ascending currents, met with constantly and unexpectedly, which have to be reckoned with
Thus it becomes a fact that a balloon's vertical course is subjected to constant checks and vicissitudes from a variety of causes, and these will have to be duly borne inresults and readings which are supplied by scientific observers With regard to the close proxi currents, it should be ions where winds of different directions pass each other that one air streaainst the surface of the other, as though adle Indeed, trustworthy observers have stated that even a hurricane can rage over a tranquil atmosphere with a sharply defined surface of demarcation between calm and storm Thus, to quote the actual words of Charles Darwin, than whom it is impossible to adduce ahow on hts hecourses ”like rivers within their beds”
It is in tracing the trend of upper air strea conditions we are now to be introduced, thatthe possibility of forecasting British wind and weather It should need no insisting on that the data required by s of instruround, or by the set of the wind as determined by a vane planted on the top of a pole or roof of a building The chief factors in our y are rather those broader and deeper conditions which obtain in higher regions necessarily beyond our ken, until those regions are duly and diligently explored
Mr Glaisher's estimate of the utility of the balloon as an instrument of research, formed at the conclusion of his aeronautical labours, has a special value and significance Speaking with all the weight attaching to so trained and eminent an observer, he declares, ”The balloon, considered as an instrument for vertical exploration, presents itself to us under a variety of aspects, each of which is fertile in suggestions
Regarding the ates which contain the ger respectively, as they unfold, to the cheist, the physical relation to anihts, the form of death which at certain elevations waits to accomplish its destruction, the effect of diminished pressure upon individuals similarly placed, the comparison of mountain ascents with the experiences of aeronauts, are soest themselves and faintly indicate enquiries which naturally ally themselves to the course of balloon experiments Sufficiently varied and important, they will be seen to rank the balloon as a valuable aid to the uses of philosophy, and rescue it fro a toy fit only to be exhibited or to administer to the pleasures of the curious and lovers of adventure”
The words of the same authority as to the possible practical development of the balloon as an aerial machine should likewise be quoted, and will appear alland the subject of aero-station has ress, and no valuable invention has arisen to facilitate travelling in the air In all my ascents I used the balloon as I found it The desire which influenced ions and travel by its e of atement nor its improvement for was at the mercy of the wind, and I saw no probability of anyobtained It even appeared to me that the balloon itself, admirable for vertical ascents, was not necessarily a first step in aerial navigation, and ht possibly have no share in the solution of the problem It was this conviction that led to the formation of the Aeronautical Society a few years since under the presidency of the Duke of Argyll In the number of communicationstheir ingenuity to discover a inary projects have been suggested, so the want of reat ai the velocity of the air with its pressure on plane surfaces at various inclinations
”There see this relation otherwise than by a careful series of experiments”
CHAPTER XIV THE HIGHEST ASCENT ON RECORD