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Friday, November 22, 2013

Flight Data

We have collected data from the barometer and made these graphs.



We noticed something odd with the temperature. Notice the spike near the apex of the balloon's flight. We aren't sure exactly why this happened, but it's very interesting!

UPDATE:
After a quick refresher from our fifth grade earth science class, we were reminded that our balloon would have passed through the ozone layer from about 25,000 to 30,000 m. The ozone layer absorbs sunlight which accounts for the warmer temperatures. It is fascinating that the temperature changed as much as 60 degrees F in just a few minutes. Its one thing to learn this in the classroom but to hold the equipment in my hands that had just passed through the ozone layer and the stratosphere collecting our own data adds a whole new element of understanding. This understanding is what we hoped to convey to the elementary students that we involved in our project.

1 comment:

  1. I just saw you on KATV this morning. Congrats on your successful launch and retrieval. I heard you say you wanted to launch something like a drone. It has been attempted by David Windestal from Sweden although he wasn't successful. His video is on YouTube. He is currently here in the US working with Flite Test who is also on YouTube. A group, FPVTeamLegit, also on YouTube is planning to launch a RC flying wing with RTL (Return To Launch) capabilities in the future. They are going about it the long, expensive, and very cautious way. How cool would it be if a group of high schoolers from Arkansas pulled it off first. Go for it. All the information you need is available online. Look around YouTube and the Remote Control community, that is where most of the technology is found. I have some web addresses that might help if you want them. Just let me know.

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