T h e . l e c t u r e s . o f . J a c k . J i t t e r s
 

The ideal balloon
Part Two: Aesthetics

 
Prof. August Piccard was a remarkable man. He has always endeavored to combine the efficiency needed for his scientific explorations with his personal interest in the aesthetics of spherical shapes.

 

During his preparations for his balloon-trips he accidentally invented the crash-helmet by cramming a pillow in a cane basket.

Prof. Piccard and Ir. Kipfer showing their latest invention.
His obsession with spheres and spheroids had great consequences for his personal life:

 
Prof. Piccard and his family after his two successfull trips into the stratosphere.
 His own head for instance slowly began to reform into the shape of the balloons he had worked with for such a long time.
Notice the striking resemblance of his youngest two daughters (standing in front, close to their father) with the features of Prof. Piccards head shape.
Our third conclusion must be that working with spherical shapes intensive for a long period of time has an irreversible effect on people.

 
How about looking at spheres by outsiders?

Piccards balloon-trips have been followed by numereous people. One of them was Dr. E. Tilgenkamp who has followed the second trip as one of a team of observers.
Let's have a look at the journal he kept:

 
Observations by Dr. E. Tilgenkamp

4 AM
"When I'm writing these lines the balloon of Prof. Piccard is almost in prall condition as a very small silver bulb above Augsburg. For one hour we keep looking at our courageous aeronaut.
 
Prof.Piccard peeping out of the open man-hole of the cabin, right before leaving for his first trip.
 "We remember him ascending from the grounds of the Riedinger balloon-factory.

Just before take-off Piccard energetically repelled the attack of journalists: 'I've got no time, write whatever you like.'"

 

4:30 AM
A remarkable observation:
"The yellow wrapping has suddenly turned white. The balloon is still visible but very small."

 

4:55 AM
"Now we see it as a bright luminous silver star. It's still climbing." "We return to our hotel. A page-boy will take over. We remind him that he will miss his tip if he loses sight of the balloon."

 

The next night, 1 AM
"While we are searching the horizon with our burning eyes, we suddenly see a sphere through the white clouds. Its as big as a five-francs coin. The balloon is descending! But after thorough examination we come to the conclusion that this sphere must be the moon, faintly glowing above the trees. The tension is gone."

 

The cabin after the landing on a glacier in the Swiss Alps.
What's there to extract from these observations?
First of all the instant obsessed ness of outsiders for a tiny little sphere under a gigantic sky.
Secondly the unreliability of their observations: colors that are constantly changing (from yellow to white to silver).
And last but not least: eventually even the shape changes!

This leads me to the final conclusion that spherical shapes never are what they look like. And never look like what they are.

Therefore: the spherical shape is totally useless for any scientific purpose, but it certainly is the most intriguing phenomenon I know.

Jack Jitters

 

 

((( P a r t . O n e : T h e . i d e a l . b a l l o o n )))