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Red Bull Stratos: An Examination of Heat Exchange. Meagan Moran, Jonathan Laurence, Kathryn Menicosy, Saki Shimada. Felix Baumgartner- Test Pilot Thermodynamics in Action. First person to break the sound barrier on his descent without vehicular power
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Red Bull Stratos: An Examination of Heat Exchange Meagan Moran, Jonathan Laurence, Kathryn Menicosy, Saki Shimada
Felix Baumgartner- Test Pilot Thermodynamics in Action • First person to break the sound barrier on his descent without vehicular power • Jumped at just over 39 km (25 miles) above sea level from a helium air balloon capsule • Reached 1342 kph (830 mph), mach 1.24
Jump Challenges • During the fall, his suit is the only protection he has and it acts as his personal life support system • Suit must compensate for: • Pressure Changes during descent • Temperature Changes throughout the stratosphere
Thermodynamics Focus: We need a way to maintain internal suit temperature: • Temperature in the Earth's stratosphere ranges from approximately -50 to 0 OC • Felix's suit must be designed to maintain a comfortable temperature during the ascent as well as throughout his fall
Problems at Hand: Question 1: • From a select number of materials, which one is the most effective at retaining heat? Question 2: • How effective is the heat retention of the material in an environment similar to that of the Earth's stratosphere?
Experiment 1 • Use different materials to insulate a warm body (representative of the human body) • Measure the rate at which heat is transferred from the hot body to the colder surroundings by taking the temperature of the warm body over time intervals • The material that has the lowest measured heat transfer rate will be used in Experiment 2
Experiment 2 • Perform the same insulation experiment as before in a low pressure and low temperature environment (similar to that of the Earth's stratosphere) • Determine the rate of heat transfer in the low pressure, low temperature environment
Possible Insulating Materials Insulation materials used commonly in jackets: - Thinsulate, Primaloft, Temptrol