How does altitude affect a balloon?

Volume. As a weather balloon rises into high altitudes, where air pressure decreases, the helium or hydrogen pressure inside the balloon increases and expands the balloon. This way the balloon and the radiosonde can rise at a consistent pace high into the atmosphere.

Why do scientists use high-altitude balloons?

Flying on a balloon above 100,000 feet allows an experiment to have a clear view of the heavens above. This can allow for excellent views of heavens without any interference from the atmosphere. It is like being in space, but it cost a lot less than rocket or a space mission.

What challenges are there with high-altitude balloon flights?

These challenges include (a) surviving the mechanical rigors of the flight such as potential jet stream turbulence on ascent, fall-induced turbulence (AKA “post-burst chaos”) during the descent, and a parachute landing, (b) operating successfully in the harsh conditions of near-space including low pressure, low …

What are scientific balloons used for?

Research balloons are balloons that are used for scientific research. They are usually unmanned, filled with a lighter-than-air gas like helium, and fly at high altitudes. Meteorology, atmospheric research, astronomy, and military research may be conducted from a research balloon.

Why do things expand at high altitudes?

As altitude increases, the amount of gas molecules in the air decreases—the air becomes less dense than air nearer to sea level. This is due to the low air pressure. Air expands as it rises, and the fewer gas molecules—including nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide—have fewer chances to bump into each other.

What happens to a balloon that is sealed with air at a high-altitude and taken down to sea level why?

The higher up the balloon goes the less air there is to push down on the balloon so the pressure decreases. When the balloon is really high, there is less air above the balloon than there was at sea level – so the weight of the air above the balloon is less than at sea level.

What are some of the advantages of using balloons to gather weather information?

Weather balloons are the primary source of data above the ground. They provide valuable input for computer forecast models, local data for meteorologists to make forecasts and predict storms, and data for research. Without this information, accurate forecasts beyond a few hours would be almost impossible!

What happens when you release balloons into the sky?

In a website blog, the agency says: balloons that are released into the air don’t just go away, they either get snagged on something such as tree branches or electrical wires, deflate and make their way back down, or rise until they pop and fall back to Earth where they can create a lot of problems.

How did scientific research using balloons contribute to early space missions?

Balloons contributed to identification of cosmic-ray antipro- tons, which were shown to be the result of well-known cosmic rays colliding with interstellar gas and dust, placing constraints on the kind of super symmetric particles that make up dark mat- ter.

What kind of balloon would you need to explore Jupiter’s atmosphere?

Finally, aerobots might be used to explore the atmosphere of Jupiter and possibly the other gaseous outer planets. As the atmospheres of these planets are largely composed of hydrogen, and since there is no lighter gas than hydrogen, such an aerobot would have to be a Montgolfiere.

What happens high altitude?

At high altitudes, oxygen molecules are further apart because there is less pressure to “push” them together. This effectively means there are fewer oxygen molecules in the same volume of air as we inhale. In scientific studies, this is often referred to as “hypoxia”.