|
Whitworth physics students launched a balloon into space this fall as part of their upper-division electricity and magnetism class with Assistant Professor of Physics John Larkin. The balloon reached an altitude of 98,000 feet before popping. That distance, called "near space," is above 99 percent of the Earth's atmosphere. After the balloon popped, the on-board instruments parachuted down and reached Mach 2 speeds during the initial part of the descent. The balloon carried a GPS receiver and radio equipment that transmitted data from the instruments to a large-screen map at Whitworth so that people on campus could follow the flight. Projects that students designed around the balloon launch included measuring the ozone, UV light and cosmic rays in the Earth's upper atmosphere, and measuring variations in the Earth's magnetic field.
|
