Strato
balloon
A KFK project.
© Gergely Attila, Rusu András.
What fascinates me the most in physics is that it studies everything from the least particles to the enormous galaxies. I found my passion, astronomy back in 8th grade, when I participated in a camp. Later I got interested in astrophotography too and I bought a camera to master it. These two are my favourite things to do in my free time.
In high school with some of my classmates I participated in the Romanian CanSat competition twice where we had to build and launch a mini satellite (soda sized). In our final year we participated in the Romanian Exo-Ro competition, where we had to build a mars rover and move it remotely through some obstacles. In both missions we had to measure parameters (e.g. atmospheric pressure, relative humidity) and analyze them. In the summer of 2019, I participated in the Hungarian Astronautical Society’s camp where a stratospheric balloon was launched from Sátoraljaújhely. That is from where I got the idea to carry out a similar mission here in Transylvania.
In this project I am a leader of some kind, my main role is time management, financial management and outreach. Another important task of mine is holding the team together. In the planning and building phase I work with the parachute system. I have some experience in science communication too, I often write articles about scientific topics on Éter blog. (project of Érted Transylvanian Youth Initiative)
As a second-year engineering physics student at Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, I have come to admire this discipline even more than I did before choosing this path. I find it fascinating how by physics stretching its roots all the way into the field of mathematics, this universal but quite abstract language finds a way to surface in practical contexts, giving humans a chance to develop their understanding of the world with more and more accuracy.
This project represents an unmissable opportunity, given it has few precedents in the country, and also a challenge, requiring the application of knowledge acquired so far; a challenge I am happy to face.
This summer I graduated from Babeș-Bolyai University where I achieved a degree in Physics and I applied to a Master of Science programme in Computational Physics. Besides physics, I am interested in various kind of sports, like horse riding, F1, football, tennis, biathlon. The combination of these two fields, the science behind the sport has already piqued my interest in many cases.
This project is an exceptional opportunity for the team to apply our knowledge, which we have gained during our university years, in practice. I several tasks in the project, like designing the parachute and different PR related assignments.
I am a first-year computational physics student at Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj. I chose this major to be able to approach a specific problem not only analytically, but also numerically. I believe that physics is the basis of everything and can give answers to all the things that happen around us. Based on my experience so far, the mathematical part of physics interests me the most, I like working with numbers and following an event through numerical values.
That is why I decided to participate in this project. This project is also an exciting challenge, it gives me the opportunity to gain new knowledge and experience in addition to the existing ones.
I have been fascinated by science for as long as I can remember. As a small child, I was enchanted by chemistry, when I was very young (7-8 years old) I carried out rudimentary experiments. Later, I became interested in electronics and physics, motivated by the construction of a Tesla coil and a nitrogen laser. As a middle school student, I started attending Electronics and Radio courses, where I gained a lot of practical knowledge. During my high school years, I participated in Olympiads and school competitions, thus gaining a solid theoretical basis. I came to university at the Faculty of Physics of Babeș-Bolyai University, because I believe that physics is the best way to understand and influence the world around us.
I applied for this project because I am fascinated by the idea that we can design and send a probe to a high altitude using basic physical laws, which autonomously performs various measurements based on a pre-written code and transmits the received data via radio.
Ever since I can remember, I have had the urge to examine, dismantle and transform the things around me. This curiosity later led me to electronics and robotics, so I was already doing Arduino at a very young age, and in high school I participated in several robotics competitions, mostly in teams (CanSat, Exorover, Robochallenge).
The current project is most similar to CanSat, as in both cases we let the unit go its own way, gathering valuable information about the atmosphere. Launching is a bit like a child fledging from the family nest: you've done what you can to get it to make the trip, you let it go because you have to let it go.
In this project, I help the construction and electronics team. I also manage the acquisition of the instruments we need for the balloon.
I am a second-year engineering-physics student at the Babes-Bolyai University. By combining the theories of physics with an engineering perspective, humanity can create amazing things. This is what motivates me: using my knowledge to create "devices" that help humanity and increase science/our knowledge.
In this project, I am strengthening the electronics/software team. My task was to program the sensors with different characteristics and to make them work as optimally as possible, but at the same time quite simply. I also helped to test the entire electronic/software equipment.
I am a first year student of the Faculty of Physics at Babes–Bolyai University. For a long time, I thought that it was mathematics that interested me the most, until I participated in my first minisatellite building competition. That was the first time I felt that I wanted to know more about physics, I wanted to understand how the world around us works, and I also wished to know how to describe an observed phenomenon.
I participated in this project as a member of the electronics team. My task was to write a program that saves temperature data to an SD card and uploads it to the internet using an mqtt server. In addition, I also helped with programming the units given to the participating schools.
I am a first-year student of engineering physics at the Faculty of Physics, Babes-Bolyai University. Throughout my life, I have been interested in how things and structures work. That's why I was attracted to physics and hoped that by combining physics with engineering I could make this project a success. Never having been part of a project like this before, it will be a challenge for me.
My task is to build the structure so that the electronics and batteries are safe. This will require thermal insulation, water, dust and impact resistance, and I will need to make sure the parachute is securely attached. I will also need transparent sides and plenty of sensor outlets on the box.
There is no falsehood in physics, if you are wrong you admit it, go on, try again and look for the infallible correlation. That's why I love physics. Another thing is that it's hard, but I wouldn't say that about anything else. Physics is the one that can give me answers to most of the things that interest me, that's why I chose physics.
I applied for the project to gain the ability to work in a team and to get an insight into how to make a complex multi-faceted measurement system work, with a lot of programming and testing.
Currently, I've finished my BSc program at Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, majoring in (theoretical) physics. My main fields of interest are dynamic and complex systems, statistical physics, networks, and relativity. I want to specialize in both analytical and numerical investigations, hence I am applying to the researcher physicist MSc program at Eötvös Lóránd Tudományegyetem and Budapesti Műszaki Egyetem, Budapest.
The current project represents not only an engineering problem but also requires high-performance computing and analytical models of the atmosphere to predict the balloon's most likely trajectory. This was the main reason behind my application to be part of the unique team and project in Transylvania.
I have just finished my master degree studies in computational physics. Along with the bachelor degree, I have spent six years studying this fascinating science of physics. During these years I was involved in a research project, studying the phenomena of earthquakes, from a statistical point of view and modeling. Since my high school years I was fascinated by this branch of science, and I decided, that I will continue my studies either in physics, or I will not continue them at all, there was not a plan B. Later I realised that it is not simply a science, it is rather a lifestyle.
This project is an outstanding opportunity to apply my already-obtained knowledge, and to widen my perspective. My task consists of the computer simulation and data processing parts. This is a pioneering project, unmissable opportunity.
Currently, I study computational physics at Babes-Bolyai University. My main interests are dynamics of complex systems, networks and numerical methods. One of the main things I've learnt during my time here is how incredibly useful a computer can be when we are confronted with a problem we can't deal with using just pen and paper. The ability to code can be one of the most precious tools in the pocket of a modern physicist.
My job in this project is to try to implement methods that predict the trajectory of the balloon in the atmosphere.
I am a second-year physics student at the Babes-Bolyai University. I am mostly interested in atomic physics and computer simulations.
During my studies so far I’ve learnt that in the field of physics experiments, theoretical, analytic calculations and computer simulations are equally important.
This project is a unique opportunity to apply and expand the knowledge acquired through the years. I take part in the work related to the computer simulation and data processing.
Even as a child, I tried to understand things, which is why so many toy cars and evrything else were taken apart; with a „scientific” purpose. Fortunately, I kept this interest to understand the world, which is why I joined this project, because I had never been part of projects like this before and I was curious about what’s like to work in such a team.
My job consists of data analysis and creating content (videos, images). Let’s see what we get out of it; eyes to heaven and let’s see how high will the balloon go!
As a second-year physics-informatics student at the Faculty of Physics of Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj, I have always been interested in the part of informatics that can be applied in reality or in physics. Seeing the development of information technology, I knew that we would be able to get closer to reality through numerical methods and simulations, so that physics would also make sense in the digital world.
For me, the project is an opportunity to work with those I haven't had the chance to meet before and to get to know the project participants better.
Throughout my life, I have always been interested in natural sciences, and I was also fascinated about how the processes and the phenomena in our world can be described in an understandable, but also rigorous way, therefore I chose to study physics. After finishing the second year, I have not regretted my choice, and I want to continue my career in this branch of science. I see this project as an opportunity to enhance my knowledge in this field, and to participate in some physics-related work which is fundamentally different from reading and studying from textbooks and sitting exams.
My job consists of data analysis and developing a GPS tracker application.
I am a first-year student of the Faculty of Physics at Babeș-Bolyai University and this is my first serious project. I have always been interested in understanding phenomena and how things work. I was already interested in physics in high school. Participating in such a project is a great opportunity for me to develop myself, by trying to complete the tasks assigned to me to the maximum and to delve into the topic as much as possible. I immediately liked the idea of the project, and I knew that I definitely wanted to help with it. The preparation that takes place before releasing the balloon requires a lot of work and action, while more and more scientific phenomena are revealed to me, and at this stage I see the most opportunities for learning.
In the project, I help to design and to make the parachute and I also help in data processing.
I am currently a first-year PhD student at Babes-Bolyai University, Faculty of Physics. One of my teachers mentioned during my undergraduate studies that physics can be viewed not only as a science, but also as an approach to life. Having completed my studies, I can fully support this. Our solution to any problem depends on our modeling ability and the parameters taken into account or neglected. That is why I cannot and do not want to get rid of this science.
I find the project proposed by our students very exciting, so I feel I should help in it where I can. This mostly includes the necessary software development and participation in testing and launching.