XIV 



THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS RELATIVE TO THE 

 RESULTS OF THE SCIENTIFIC BALLOON ASCENSIONS 

 OF THE GERMAN ASSOCIATION AT BERLIN FOR 

 THE PROMOTION OF AERONAUTICS 



BY PROF. DR. WM. VON BEZOLD 



[From Wissenschaftliche Luftfahrten, or The Scientific Balloon Voyages 

 carried out by "The German Association at Berlin for the Promotion of Aero- 

 nautics. Published by R. Assmann and A. Berson by the cooperation of 

 O. Baschin, W. von Bezold, R. Boernstein, H. Gross, V. V. Kremser, H. Stade 

 and R. Stiring. '! Brunswick, 1900, Vol. Ill, pp. 2S3-313] 



[Translated from the Gesammelte Abhandlungen von Wm. v. Bezold, Braun- 

 schweig, 100b, pp. 221-264] 



The authors of this publication have asked me to express in a 

 final chapter the most important results from a theoretical point 

 of view and thus unite the individual portions by one common 

 thought. 



Willingly as I would respond to this desire, yet I find myself in a 

 difficult position. Notwithstanding the fact that I have steadily 

 followed the whole undertaking from the first step in the work, still 

 I cannot seriously begin this crowning chapter until the individual 

 memoirs united in these three volumes are available to me; and thus 

 there remains to me no other choice than either* to limit myself to a 

 superficial review or to delay the appearance of the whole work. 



I have decided to pursue the first of these alternatives in recogni- 

 tion of the conviction that weeks and months would not suffice for 

 the completion of my work. 



Therefore in a first section of this chapter I confine myself to an 

 exposition of the importance that pertains to observations in balloons 

 from the present point of view of our science. In a second section 

 I will attempt to develop the ideas as to the processes going on in 

 vertical columns of air to which we are led by purely theoretical 

 considerations and by which much may be anticipated that may be 

 subsequently confirmed by the observations. In the third section 

 the average vertical distribution of the meteorological elements will 

 be presented as resulting from the data given by the ascensions. 



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