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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LI. No. 1316 



later attempts when recourse to oxygen in- 

 halation was had. In the airplane and Zep- 

 pelin ascensions to be referred to later, the 

 observers were provided with oxygen, and 

 what is equally important, body heating 

 devices to enable them to withstand extremely 

 low temperatures. 



While not, strictly speaking, a manned 

 balloon, it must be noted that in the famous 

 Zeppelin raid of October 19, 1917, the baro- 

 graphs of the flagship L 49, superdread- 

 naught, indicated that at least for a short 

 period the airship had attained a height of 

 6,200 meters. The crew were provided with 

 oxygen tubes and wore electrically heated 

 mittens and boots. There is some doubt, how- 

 ever, concerning the height, owing to the 

 speed of wind and ship. 



A brief summation^ of the extreme eleva- 

 tions attained, up to 1917 is: 

 By kites, 7,044 meters, Mt. Weather, Va., 



Oct. 3, 1907. 

 By manned balloons 10,800 meters, Berson 



and Siiring, July 31, 1901. 

 By Zeppelin, rigid dirigible, 6,200 meters, 



October 20, 1917. 

 By airplane, 7,950 meters, G. Guidi, JSTov. 7, 



1916. 

 By sounding balloons, 37,000 meters, 1912. 

 By pilot balloons, height determined by 



theodolite, 39,000 meters. 



The airplane record has been steadily 

 developed. In 1909 Latham made 161 meters; 

 which was soon surpassed. Drexel in 1910 

 made 1,829 meters and then in rapid suc- 

 cession Macrane 2,582 meters, Wynmalen 2,800 

 meters, Drexel 2,880, Johnston 3,193, Loudan 

 3,280, Parmelee 3,304, Brindley 3,585, and 

 Legagneux, 5,718, a noteworthy jump. 



Perreyou on March 11, 1913, attained a 

 height of 6,000 meters. 



The war gave a tremendous impetus to the 

 development of the plane; and the necessity 

 of quick and high climbing was fully ap- 

 preciated by all the belligerents. 



Major (then Captain) Schroeder on Sep- 

 tember 18, 1919, reached a height of 8,809 

 meters (28,000 feet) at Wilbur Wright Field. 



1 From ' ' Principles of Aerography, ' ' p. 19. 



Captain Lang and Lieutenant Blowers of the 

 Royal Air Service, in the brief space of 66 

 minutes, reached an elevation of 9,295 meters 

 (30,500 feet) ; to be in turn surpassed by 

 Eoland Rohlfs at Eoosevelt Field, Mineola, 

 who made 9,357 meters (30,700 feet) on July 

 30, 1919, and again on September 18, of the 

 same year when in the short space of 78 

 minutes he rose 10,516 meters (34,500 feet) 

 and fluttered back to earth as gently as a 

 snowflake drops. 



Mention should also be made of the flights 

 of Adjutant Casales on May 22, 1919, to 9,449 

 meters, June 8, 9,495 meters, and on June 14, 

 to 10,100 meters (33,136 feet). 



The record now stands Schroeder, February 

 27, 1920, 10,979 meters. Thus in a period of 

 ten years the heavier than air machine has 

 been so improved that elevations have in- 

 creased from 500 to practically 11,000 meters. 

 We are told that the goal of American avia- 

 tors is 12,000 meters or approximately 40,000 

 feet, but it is of course, possible that this 

 ceiling shall be lifted still higher, and that 

 a height of 15 or even 16 kilometers (10 

 miles) may be reached, provided suitable pro- 

 tection (so-called diving suits) for the air- 

 man is available. 



In Schroeder's latest ascent, the oxygen 

 supply was exhausted and the results were 

 tragic but fortunately not fatal. 



The fact that heavier than air machines 

 can be driven to the 10-km. level means much 

 to the aerographer, particularly in connection 

 with forecasting weather changes at the sur- 

 face. This is the most important level for 

 studying not only pressure, temperature and 

 water vapor content, but the air flow and 

 structure of cyclone and anticyclone. The 

 10-kilometer level is the bottom of the strato- 

 sphere or isothermal region and at the same 

 time the top of the troposphere or convec- 

 tional region. As a postulate to Dines's statis- 

 tical studies we know that in the stratosphere 

 or region above 10 kms. it is colder in an 

 anticyclone than in a cyclone at the same 

 level, while on the other hand in the tropo- 

 sphere, i. e., from 9 kms. down to 1 or 2 kms. 



