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128
Wonderful Balloon Ascents; Or, The Conquest of the Skies
·
Fulgence Marion
123
ever
reached.
In
this
ascent
six
pigeons
were
taken
up.
One
was
thrown
out
at
three
miles.
It
extended
its
wings,
and
dropped
like
a
piece
of
paper.
A
second
at
four
miles,
and
it
flew
with
vigour.
A
third
between
four
and
five
miles,
and
it
fell
downwards.
A
fourth
was
thrown
out
at
four
miles
in
descending,
and
it
alighted
on
the
top
of
the
balloon.
Two
were
brought
to
the
ground.
One
was
dead,
and
the
other
was
ill,
but
recovered
so
as
to
fly
away
in
a
quarter
of
an
hour.”
The
results
gathered
by
Mr.
Glaisher
from
his
numerous
ascents
are
very
interesting.
He
found
that
in
no
instance
did
the
temperature
of
the
air
decrease
uniformly
with
the
increase
of
height.
In
fact,
the
decrease
in
the
first
mile
is
double
that
in
the
second,
and
nearly
four
times
as
great
as
the
change
of
temperature
in
the
fifth
mile.
The
distribution
of
aqueous
vapour
in
the
air
is
no
less
remarkable.
The
temperature
of
the
dew-point
on
leaving
the
earth
decreases
less
rapidly
than
the
temperature
of
the
air;
so
that
the
difference
between
the
two
temperatures
becomes
less
and
less,
till
the
vapour
or
cloud
plane
is
reached,
when
they
are
usually
together,
and
always
most
nearly
approach
each
other,
and
that
point
is
usually
at
about
the
height
of
one
mile.
On
leaving
the
upper
surface
of
cloud,
the
dew
point
decreases
more
rapidly
than
the
air,
and
at
extremely
high
situations
the
difference
between
the
two
temperatures
is
wonderfully
great,
indicating
an
extraordinary
degree
of
dryness,
and
an
almost
entire
absence
of
water.
Under
these
circumstances,
the
presence
of
cirrus
clouds
far
above
this
dry
region,
apparently
as
much
above
as
when
viewed
from
the
earth,
is
very
remarkable,
and
leads
to
the
conclusion
that
they
are
not
composed
of
water.
In
the
propagation
of
sound,
M.
Glaisher
made
many
curious
experiments.
In
one
ascent
(July
17th)
he
found,
when
at
a
distance
of
11,800
feet
above
the
earth,
that
a
band
was
heard;
at
a
height
of
22,000
feet,
a
clap
of
thunder
was
heard;
and
at
a
height
of
10,070
feet,
the
report
of
a
gun
was
heard.
On
one
occasion,
he
heard
the
dull
hum
of
London
at
a
height
of
9,000
feet
above
the
city,
and
on
another
occasion,
the
shouting
of
many
thousands
of
persons
could
not
be
heard
at
the
height
of
4,000
feet.
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