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A ceiling balloon also called a pilot balloon or pibal, is used by meteorologists to determine the height of the base of clouds above ground level during daylight hours. In the past, and sometimes today, a theodolite was used to track the balloon in order to determine the speed and direction of winds aloft. [ 1 ]
A weather balloon, also known as a sounding balloon, is a balloon (specifically a type of high-altitude balloon) that carries instruments to the stratosphere to send back information on atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity and wind speed by means of a small, expendable measuring device called a radiosonde.
High-altitude balloons or stratostats are usually uncrewed balloons typically filled with helium or hydrogen and released into the stratosphere, generally attaining between 18 and 37 km (11 and 23 mi; 59,000 and 121,000 ft) above sea level. In 2013, a balloon named BS 13-08 reached a record altitude of 53.7 km (33.4 mi; 176,000 ft). [1]
An 800 g (28 oz) balloon will burst at about 21 km (13 mi). [16] After bursting, a small parachute on the radiosonde's support line may slow its descent to Earth, while some rely on the aerodynamic drag of the shredded remains of the balloon, and the very light weight of the package itself. A typical radiosonde flight lasts 60 to 90 minutes.
A group of amateur balloonists has revealed that a pico balloon – which cost as little as $12 – may be among the three unidentified aerial objects shot down by the US military.
The ceiling projector or cloud searchlight is used to measure the height of the base of clouds (called the ceiling) above the ground. It is used in conjunction with an alidade , usually positioned 1000 ft (300 m) away and wherever possible set at the same level.
Piccard Balloons was an American manufacturer of hot air balloons. [12] Don Piccard, descended from a long line of aeronauts, built and sold some of the first modern hot air balloons, beginning in the mid-1960s.
Charles conceived the idea that hydrogen would be a suitable lifting agent for balloons because, as a chemist, he had studied the work of his contemporaries Henry Cavendish, Joseph Black and Tiberius Cavallo. [1] The balloon built by Jacques Charles and the Robert brothers is attacked by terrified villagers in Gonesse.