During week three the groups have made headway in finalizing designs of experiments and also ordering components.
The group measuring electric discharge looked into what components that will be needed to measure the breakdown voltage at different altitudes and ordered parts that were required for the circuit. Ground tests were done to test and see if the balloon will develop a static charge if it is hung in a tree, and also looking into the range that the setup will have.
The solar tracking group has decided to use photoresistors to detect where the sun is and when the solar cell is centered it will take a reading using a basic stamp. The group first made the tracker follow a flashlight in one dimension using a servo, and then modified the circuit to follow the sun. A mock up was then made of the final design using two servos to follow a flashlight.
The mercury group made a 3d model of the cylinder that will hold the mercury traps using Solid Works. This model will eventually be rapid prototyped out of plastic so that it can be used in the payload. The traps were ordered, along with a few "dummy" traps that can be used in ground tests so the final traps will not be contaminated. They are still waiting on more information about an ozone sensor that could be used.
Thanks, Mike
