Things to Do With Weather Balloons
Man's attraction to things that fly may explain why weather balloons cause people to pause and observe when they see one even today. Most weather balloons are manufactured from flexible latex material filled with hydrogen or helium, which allows the balloon to ascend into the sky. Scientifically, the balloons have many uses. While they primarily help predict the weather, they also help monitor pollution or conduct aviation experiments.
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History
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One of the earliest weather balloons, or scientific balloons as they were called then, headed for the sky in 1783. The balloon held scientist Jacques Charles who reached almost 9,000 feet in his hydrogen-filled craft. Human-power balloon use continued until the first unmanned flight took place in 1893 carrying a variety of instruments. Nowadays, weather balloons take off more than 1,600 times a day all over the world.
Weather monitoring
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Weather balloons, also commonly referred to as sounding balloons, get released to the skies frequently in order to monitor atmospheric conditions. These balloons float to to altitudes thousands of feet above the ground to collect information about humidity, pressure, temperature, and wind speed and direction. You can send up your own weather balloon as long as you have a way to transmit and receive the information your balloon's instruments gather.
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Pollution monitoring
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Balloons measuring carbon emissions and atmospheric pollution typically ascend tens of thousands of feet into the sky, reaching altitudes of about 100,000 feet. These balloons contain instruments to monitor ozone and gather air samples stored in a database. This information accumulates, creating a more thorough idea of what pollution, both natural and man-made, adds to the atmosphere.
Aviation Experiments
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Some people attempt to imitate the Wright brothers, using weather balloons to create their own version of a flying machine. But these contraptions offer little control over wind speed or landing options. In 1980 a man rigged a lawn chair with dozens of helium-filled weather balloons, then used a BB gun to pop a few of the balloons to bring himself and his creation back to earth. Since he could not control the balloons, he landed on an electrical line and had to wait for technicians to get him down. Luckily, he survived.
Warnings
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If you plan to launch your own weather balloon, make sure you check into FAA aviation rules first. Very strict weight restrictions limit your balloon to just a few pounds and specific size limits require careful planning to keep your balloon legal. If you plan to go over these weight and size limits, you need to get a permit. These restrictions exist to keep homemade aircraft from endangering real planes.
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- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Matthias
