The Roswell Report: Fact vs. Fiction in the New Mexico Desert

patch is on the equator, the cell does not collapse but serves as a parachute to prevent extremely rapid fall and damage to the instruments. Figure 3 shows this patch in position on a balloon. Due to premature firings, a time switch has been built into the circuit to prevent misfiring in launching. A rip device will be developed to replace the incendiary on all future flights.

## Section 3. Theoretical Relationships and Computations

## A. Altitude-Density Relationships

An investigation into the relationship between density of the atmosphere and altitude, with the seasonal and geographical variations experienced, was made. The basic data, mean aerological soundings, were taken from the Monthly Weather Review, 1943 $ ^{6} $ . These basic data consisted of observed temperatures, pressures, and humidities for altitudes from the surface up to the bursting height of balloons, normally 50,000 to 60,000 feet. For altitude above this height, the highest reported temperatures for the stations under consideration were used and the pressure data were taken for the remaining altitudes up to 100,000 feet, from the N.A.C.A. Standard Atmosphere $ ^{7} $ .

Density was expressed inversely in terms of pound molar volumes, as this relates volume in cubic feet to buoyancies of gases of varying purity, using fundamental data. Using the simple gas laws, the molar volume of dry air at each altitude was computed in the following manner:

Given: (1) The pound molar volume of any gas at standard conditions=359 ft. $ ^{3} $