NUCLEAR ENERGY DATA

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27247, 25 November 1949, Page 7

NUCLEAR ENERGY DATA

Balloons Sent Into Stratosphere EXPERIMENTS OFF JAMAICA Rec. 9 p.m. NEW YORK, Nov. 24. Scientists who sent balloons 97,000 feet (approximately 18h miles) 'above the equator to get information on nuclear energy reported excellent results. Dr M. H. Shamos, assistant professor of physics at New York University, said to-day. The experiments yielded excellent results on the physical side, but an analysis of the data would take about a year. Dr Shamos was one of 16 scientists who took part in the experiments under contract to the Office of Naval Research. They launched 12 balloons filled with helium from the aircraft carrier Palau from November 10 to November 19 near Eguritanamo, Jamaica. The balloons, after reaching the stratosphere, automatically released loads of scientific equipment which dropped by parachute. Naval vessels recovered the equipment from the ocean. Several balloons carried photographic plates to record what happened when cosmic rays passed through layers of lead, carbon, tin and iron.