Auguste Piccard

Auguste Antoine Piccard (January 28, 1884 – March 24, 1962) was a Swiss inventor.

Related Topics:
January 28 - 1884 - March 24 - 1962 - Swiss - Inventor

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Piccard and his twin brother Jean-Felix were born in Basel, Switzerland. Showing an intense interest in science as a child, he attended the Federal Polytechnic School of Switzerland, and became a professor of physics in Brussels at the Free University of Brussels in 1922, the same year his son Jacques Piccard was born. He was a member of the Solvay Congress of 1927.

Related Topics:
Jean-Felix - Basel - Switzerland - Federal Polytechnic School - Physics - Brussels - Free University of Brussels - 1922 - Jacques Piccard - Solvay Congress - 1927

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In 1930, an interest in ballooning, and a curiosity about the upper atmosphere led him to design a spherical, pressurized aluminum gondola which would allow ascent to great altitude without requiring a pressure suit. Supported by the Belgian Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS) Piccard constructed his gondola.

Related Topics:
1930 - Belgian

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On May 27, 1931, Auguste and Paul Kipfer took off from Augsburg, Germany, and reached a record altitude of 15,785 m (51,775 ft).

Related Topics:
May 27 - 1931 - Augsburg - Germany

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During this flight, Piccard was able to gather substantial data on the upper atmosphere, as well as measure cosmic rays.

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On August 18, 1932, lauched from Zürich, Switzerland, Piccard and Max Cosyns made a second record-breaking ascent to 16,200 m (53,152 ft).

Related Topics:
August 18 - 1932 - Zürich

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He ultimately made a total of twenty-seven balloon flights setting a final record of 23,000 m (72,177 ft).

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In the mid '30s, Piccard's interests shifted when he realized that a modification of some of his atmospheric balloon concepts would allow descent into the deep ocean.

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By 1937, he'd designed a small steel gondola to withstand great external pressure, construction began but was interrupted by the outbreak of war. Resuming work in 1945 the steel gondola for personnel was completed and a large float was attached for buoyancy using gasoline as the medium.

Related Topics:
1937 - 1945

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To make the now floating craft sink, tons of iron were attached to the float with a release mechanism.

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This craft was named FNRS-2 and made a number of unmanned dives in 1948 before being gifted to the French navy in 1950.

Related Topics:
1948 - French navy - 1950

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There it was redesigned, and in 1954 it took a man safely down 4,176 m (13,700 ft).

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With the experience of FNRS-2 Piccard and his son Jacques built the improved Bathyscaphe Trieste.

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Jacques Piccard made many dives, mainly off Italy, from 1954 before before selling her to the US Navy in 1957 for $250,000. On her 65th dive, the younger Piccard and Lt. Don Walsh of the U.S. Navy reached a depth 35,800 ft in the Mariana Trench, a few hundred miles from Guam, setting a new record. Jacques' book Seven Miles Down tells the full story of the FNRS-2 and Trieste.

Related Topics:
Italy - 1954 - US Navy - 1957 - Mariana Trench - Guam

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Auguste Piccard died 1962 in Lausanne, Switzerland. His grandson Bertrand Piccard also became a balloonist, taking part in the first world circumnavigation.

Related Topics:
1962 - Lausanne - Bertrand Piccard

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Auguste Piccard is supposed to have been the inspiration for Professor Cuthbert Calculus (French: Professeur Tryphon Tournesol, German: Professor Bienlein) in Tintin. Captain Jean-Luc Picard of Star Trek fame is also named after him, and in the fictionalized Star Trek universe is a direct descendant.

Related Topics:
Cuthbert Calculus - Tintin - Jean-Luc Picard - Star Trek

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