scholarly journals Solar Climate Intervention: Establishing baseline metrics for the lower stratosphere using the heliotrope solar hot air balloon system.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Wheeler ◽  
Erika Roesler ◽  
Daniel Bowman ◽  
Andrew Glen ◽  
Philip Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Hot Air ◽  
Balloon System

scholarly journals Multihour Stratospheric Flights with the Heliotrope Solar Hot-Air Balloon

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 1051-1066
Author(s):  
Daniel C. Bowman ◽  
Paul E. Norman ◽  
Michael T. Pauken ◽  
Sarah A. Albert ◽  
Darielle Dexheimer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Design History ◽  
Balloon Flight ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Hot Air ◽  
Construction Techniques ◽  
Solar Powered ◽  
Constant Altitude

AbstractStandard meteorological balloons can deliver small scientific payloads to the stratosphere for a few tens of minutes, but achieving multihour level flight in this region is more difficult. We have developed a solar-powered hot-air balloon named the heliotrope that can maintain a nearly constant altitude in the upper troposphere–lower stratosphere as long as the sun is above the horizon. It can accommodate scientific payloads ranging from hundreds of grams to several kilograms. The balloon can achieve float altitudes exceeding 24 km and fly for days in the Arctic summer, although sunset provides a convenient flight termination mechanism at lower latitudes. Two people can build an envelope in about 3.5 h, and the materials cost about $30. The low cost and simplicity of the heliotrope enables a class of missions that is generally out of reach of institutions lacking specialized balloon expertise. Here, we discuss the design history, construction techniques, trajectory characteristics, and flight prediction of the heliotrope balloon. We conclude with a discussion of the physics of solar hot-air balloon flight.

A Well-Ordered Thing

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Gordin
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
History Of Science ◽  
Periodic Table ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Classic Work ◽  
Hot Air ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Time

Dmitrii Mendeleev (1834–1907) is a name we recognize, but perhaps only as the creator of the periodic table of elements. Generally, little else has been known about him. This book is an authoritative biography of Mendeleev that draws a multifaceted portrait of his life for the first time. As the book reveals, Mendeleev was not only a luminary in the history of science, he was also an astonishingly wide-ranging political and cultural figure. From his attack on Spiritualism to his failed voyage to the Arctic and his near-mythical hot-air balloon trip, this is the story of an extraordinary maverick. The ideals that shaped his work outside science also led Mendeleev to order the elements and, eventually, to engineer one of the most fascinating scientific developments of the nineteenth century. This book is a classic work that tells the story of one of the world's most important minds.

Multi- and In-Stabilities in Gas Partitioning Between Nanoporous Materials and Rubber Balloons

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cory Simon ◽  
carlo carraro
Keyword(s):  
Thermodynamic Equilibrium ◽  
Stable States ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
Adsorbed Gas ◽  
Rubber Balloon ◽  
Balloon Size ◽  
Metal Organic ◽  
Balloon Experiment ◽  
Adsorbent System ◽  
Balloon System

<div>In the two-balloon experiment, two rubber balloons are connected and allowed to exchange gas. Owing to the non-monotonic relationship between the radius of the balloon and the pressure of gas inside of it, the two-balloon system presents multi- and in-stabilities.</div><div><br></div><div>Herein, we consider a two-adsorbent system, where two different adsorbents are allowed to exchange gas. We show that, for rigid adsorbents, the thermodynamic equilibrium state is unique.</div><div><br></div><div>Then, we consider an adsorbent-balloon system, where an adsorbent exchanges gas with a rubber balloon. This system can exhibit multiple states at thermodynamic equilibrium-- two (meta)stable and one unstable. The size of the balloon, pressure of gas in the balloon, and partitioning of gas between the adsorbent and the balloon differ among the equilibrium states. Temperature changes and the addition/removal of gas into/from the adsorbent-balloon system can induce catastrophe bifurcations and show hysteresis. Furthermore, the adsorbent-balloon system exhibits a critical temperature where, when approached from below, the discrepancy of balloon size between the two (meta)stable states decreases and, beyond, bistability is impossible.</div><div><br></div><div>Practically, our findings preclude multiple partitions of adsorbed gas in rigid mixed-linker metal-organic frameworks and may inspire new soft actuator and sensor designs.</div>

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