Alfred Wegener: Difference between revisions
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== Lindenberg Observatory ==
Royal Prussian Aeronautical Observatory conducted research on aerology, the investigation of the three-dimensional structure of the atmosphere by sending up (to altitudes of several kilometers)
▲Royal Prussian Aeronautical Observatory conducted research on aerology, the investigation of the three-dimensional structure of the atmosphere by sending up (to altitudes of several kilometers) meterological recording instruments via "captive balloons" and kites, tethered to the ground by steel cables. Aerologists also sent aloft to much greater altitudes "free balloons", designed to parachute back to earth with their instrument packages. Finally, the scientists went aloft themselves in manned balloons capable of carrying several investigators and a large and varied array of sensing and recording devices. The observatory studied several aspects of the atmosphere in the first few kilometers above the surface : atmospheric layering, winds, temperature, humidity, vertical atmospheric motions, cosmic radiation, polarization of light, atmospheric electricity, atmospheric particulates, cloud types, and photographic documentation of atmospheric phenomena of all kinds. The fundings available for this new scientific station were a result of direct royal patronage. Kaiser Wilhelm II aspired to be a patron of science and technology, on the pattern of his friend Prince Albert of Monaco, a long patron of oceanography, meteorology, and marine biology.
On 1 January 1905, Alfred and his brother Kurt, who had just taken his degree in meteorology at the Physical-Technical Institute in Charlottenburg, joined the scientific staff as a technical assistant of the Royal Prussian Aeronautical Observatory at Lindenberg. As the technical assistants, they were to work directly with the observer, Arthur Berson, and with the director of the station, Aßmann, in conducting flights of these experimental aircraft and experimental instruments.
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Alfred's principal employment was to help send these carefully calibrated instruments aloft seven days a week (holidays included) at set hours. The schedule included a flight from 7 - 10 am, one from 2 - 6 pm, and one from 9 pm - midnight. At set times during the year "International Flight Weeks" meant the addition of a flight from 2 - 5 am. Once a month, usually the first Sunday, an instrument package went aloft for 24 hours continuous observations. In the sixteen months Alfred spent at Lindenberg, there were about 400 kite ascents and about 140 captive balloon ascents.
=== Ballooning ===
Berlin flattered itself a world center for aviation under the lavish patronage of the kaiser and the army. Kurt and Alfred had, many times in their childhood, looked up to see the great balloons soaring over the city. The opportunity to go ballooning had been from the beginning one of the main attractions that brought Alfred and Kurt to Lindenberg.
In 1905, heavier-than-air airplane flight was only two years old. The maximum times aloft for these primitive and rickety craft were still measured in minutes. The altitudes were negligible, often only 10 or 20 meters above the ground. Ballooning, on the other hand, offered time aloft measured in hours, altitude measured in kilometers, and suitable for serious scientific work.
==== First flight ====
Berson and Alfred got an early start on 11 May 1905, lifting off just after 8.30 am, from the aerodrome at Reinickendorf in Berlin in a hydrogen-filled balloon. Berson was interested in measuring the electrical conductivity of the atmosphere and its change with altitude. Alfred's job was to be the navigator and determine their geographic position at regular intervals, as well as keeping the journal and handling the ballast.
On this flight, Alfred was able to find their position with an error of 10 - 15 kilometers. At the time of these first attempts by Alfred, an aeronaut could give only an intuitive guess at his position by observing the direction of flight, airspeed and by recognizing landmarks below. Moving laterally at several meters a second, changing altitude almost constantly, knowing one altitude by reference to atmospheric pressure alone, put much uncertainty into a measurement.
Alfred and Berson flew for ten hours, got up over 5,500 meters and made a controlled landing in Gleiwitz, East Prussia.
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