Weathered Questions 6.2

Well, should we get into it? Kai? I think we should.

I think we should.

And yeah, We're at the time of year where this is kind of a transition month in weather.

There's lots of things that shift back and forth.

We start getting ups and downs in temperature.

And not just here at the ground, but also in the upper levels of the atmosphere.

And today, Jan, we're going to dive in and talk about all things weather balloons.

What they are, how they work, what is inside them.

I've actually helped personally launch one.

I can tell that story too.

But why don't you get us started here about all things weather balloons, including the weather instruments that are on them and maybe how they get tracked around.

Yeah, so yeah, what is a weather balloon, right? At its core, giant, well, yeah, giant balloon.

Until you fill it up, like any balloon, it's pretty small.

But once you start adding the air, they expand and get very, very large.

And essentially, you're filling it with helium, right? So it's going to be able to float and go up through the atmosphere and gather data as it's going.

I guess I'm not 100% sure.

Do you know what they're made out of? What that balloon is? The material of the balloon? I believe it's

some kind of latex material or close to it.

That was what I wanted to say.

Yeah, I believe it is.

It's almost like a huge rubber glove.

in a way or like a punching ball.

If you ever play with a punching ball before the rubber band on it, it's very similar to that material.

That's a good

comparison.