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Home | Basket and experiments |
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New horizons |
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Several questions remain unanswered, especially the two followings:
- What is the temperature reached by the balloon envelope facing the sun? The temperature shall be very high as the average temperature allows the balloon to climb. More than two inside temperature sensors should be installed. Let’s keep the one close to the center and the other one close to the upper surface. We should stick one on each of the 3 surfaces of the tetrahedron as only one faces the sun at a time.
- What is the altitude the balloon can reach? Up to now, the balloon has been tested at the end of daylight, maximum two hours before sunset, so as to be able to follow the flight by car and to avoid a long trip. Of course, this altitude depends on the load on board and the lighting received. The maximum altitude should be reached by lightening the load and taking-off four hours before sunset. Last year, we managed to get the data (pressure, ambient temperature) of a sounding balloon flight. So we processed and established the average inside temperature that should exist for the balloon to reach 15, 000m high, as shown on the curves below.
The balloon reached 11,670 m at the first try. According to these results, the difference of temperature would have reached more than 50°C, with an ambient temperature close to -50°C and an inside temperature of 0°C. For the balloon to reach 15, 000 m, the difference of temperature must be 120°C. This seems difficult. Considering the load on board for the 1st flight, the balloon probably reached its maximum altitude. The load will have to be lightened to decrease the necessary difference of temperature if we want to improve the climbing of the balloon. We would like to perform a new try so as to answer these questions. It may probably occur on August 24, 2008 at Amboise, during a hot-air-balloon show we were invited to. .
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