daily waste of gas
diminishes the buoyancy of the balloon, it must be kept from
descending by throwing off a certain amount of sand. Again, the heat
of the sun and the action of warm air currents cause at times the
volume of gas to undergo a sudden expansion, and then to prevent the
balloon from running too high, the gas must be allowed to escape from
the valve. The gas, under these circumstances, must also be allowed to
escape in order to prevent the balloon from bursting. Presently the
balloon will pass through a colder current of air and sudden
condensation takes place, and the balloon would sink unless more
ballast were thrown off. This process continues until the aeronaut has
neither ballast nor gas left.
Now, I suggest that a large balloon be made with the mouth closed, so
that no gas can escape; and that it carry enough ballast to keep it,
under an ordinary temperature, at a certain distance from the ground.
A pipe must enter the mouth of the balloon, one end of which opens in
its interior and the other end in a gas reservoir which lies in the
"basket" or "car." As soon as the gas undergoes an expansion, and a
certain amount of pressure is made in this reservoir, a valve opens
and a whistle signals the moment when the force pumps must be set to
work to pump the air out of the balloon into the large _number two_
reservoir, the frame work of which forms the body of the car.
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