During week two each group has made improvements on their experiments and came closer to finalizing their designs.
An experiment to measure the breakdown voltage of air at high altitude has made some development. A motor will vary the distance between two nodes and the distance at which a spark occurs will be used to determine the breakdown voltage. Using a model to determine the theoretical breakdown voltage at different altitudes, a plot was created to see what distances should be used for the apparatus. Through testing the set up of using a transistor and an LED light was verified as a plausible way to measure the static charge on a balloon.
The group measuring the ultraviolet radiation throughout the atmosphere decided to change their experiment to measure the power output of a solar cell. The basic setup of the experiment will remain the same as with the UV testing. They will attempt to build a solar tracker so that the cell can maximize output while attached to the payload. They will also build a ground solar cell so the two power outputs can be compared. Theoretically there should be up to six times more output by the cell at higher altitude.
A test to measure the amount of mercury in the atmosphere found a vacuum motor that will work with their design. They plan to draw air through tubes filled with gold-coated glass beads. There will be three tubes that slowly turn inside a cylindrical wheel. There will only be one opening on the cylinder as to allow air through only one tube at a time.
Thanks, Billy
