The history of the emergence of aeronautics, aviation and the conquest of space. Facts about balloons and balloons

People in ancient times dreamed of flying across the sky, like birds, and for a long time they went to this. And now, sitting in the comfortable chair of an airliner, few people are interested in how people were able to build the first aircraft and master air travel. With the advent of airplanes, many have forgotten about this aeronautical art, but lately, ballooning has attracted the attention of tens of thousands of people every year.

Absolutely all balloons differ in size and in the number of people transported. So it is logical that prices can vary greatly, but if we talk about an ordinary balloon, it will cost 20-30 thousand dollars. But why, one wonders, to buy a balloon, if, for example, you would like to fly out of curiosity, or make a gift to a loved one, or make a romantic marriage proposal to your beloved, is not at all necessary. For this, there is an agency Magic flight in Moscow, which has various balloons in its assortment, including those in the form of a heart, be with Magic flight and a balloon flight will become an unforgettable moment in your life.

In 1784, James Tyler took the Grand Edinburgh balloon 106 meters up and flew about a kilometer on it. It is noteworthy that Mr. Tyler worked as a simple pharmacist, but he went down in history not only as an aeronaut, but also as a person who edited the Encyclopædia Britannica (2nd edition).

Balloons were invented in 1824 by Michael Faraday. True, then his invention was used only as a "vessel" in which he stored various gases.

Well, the first living aeronauts were: a ram, a duck and a rooster. They were launched into the air by the Montgolfier brothers in September 1783. The first aeronauts successfully survived the flight, only the wing of the rooster was broken. However, everyone thought that the ram did it.

In November 1783, the inventors Marquis de Arlandes and Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier created a manned balloon that did not need to be tied to the ground.

Two years later, in 1785, John Jeffreys and Jean-Pierre Blanchard became the first aeronauts in history to fly across the English Channel. It was a rather desperate act, because both could not swim.

In 1808, the first duel using balloons took place in Paris.

In 1999, Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones made history as the first people to circumnavigate the world using a hot air balloon and never land on the ground during the flight.

In 1794, there was a revolution in France and a brilliant idea came to resourceful military commanders - to use a balloon for reconnaissance. This ball was "Entreprenant".

In 2010, at the next event "Bristol International Balloon Fiesta", a non-trivial model of a ball with a thick glass bottom was presented to the public.

It is common knowledge that the balloon is almost uncontrollable. Its movement is very dependent on wind currents, people controlling the ball can only change the flight altitude, thereby trying to find suitable wind currents.

Usually you can fly on a balloon for only two hours. However, if we take into account the preparatory procedures, then the process itself will stretch for three hours.

In 2013, an absolute record was set at one of the former French NATO bases: 408 balloons flew into the air in a few minutes.

Few people know, but the balloon will not rise into the air if it rains.

What do you know about balloons? Well, of course, they are bright, beautiful and give a lot of positive. Where can they be applied? Immediately there are associations with some solemn events. But sometimes you can find very unusual uses for some things.

Now we will look at this with real examples.

1. You can fly on balloons!

Who in childhood did not dream of flying into the sky, holding balloons in their hands. But professional skier and base jumper Erik Roner, a native of Northern California, turned the dream into reality. Having tied 90 helium-filled balloons to a summer lounger, he climbed to a height of 2.5 km. He took a gun and a parachute with him.

Having reached the desired height, Eric Rohner fired balls and quickly went into a free fall. Then he opened his parachute and successfully landed. Incredibly brave act you can see on the video.

2. Sculptures from balloons

American sculptor Larry Moss (Larry Moss) came up with his own project "Aerigami" ("Airigami"). This is a rather creative and non-standard approach to art.

It is hard to believe that balloons can be used to create copies of paintings by such great artists as Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, Grant Wood. But as you can see, nothing is impossible.

Copy of the painting "The Birth of Venus" by Botticelli

A copy of the painting "American Gothic" by Grant Wood

A copy of the painting "Vitruvian Man" by da Vinci

Larry Moss also designed a whole collection of balloon clothes.

Also, the bold experimenter created the largest balloon sculpture, which was even entered into the Guinness Book of Records. Indeed, the flight of fantasy has no boundaries, and sometimes a look from a different angle on a familiar thing gives it a new life.

3. Mobile phone case made of unusual material

With little effort, a balloon can turn into a real smartphone case. Moreover, such a cover does not require large cash costs and at least every day you can change the color. You can do this in 3 steps:

1. Inflate a balloon, clamp the outlet and put your phone on it.
2. You begin to slowly release the air, while gently pressing on the smartphone.
3. The air comes out and the ball tightly fits the gadget.

Here is a bright and beautiful case ready. Just don't forget to cut a hole for recharging.

4. Balloons in the form of meat products

Japan is truly an amazing country. A great many inventions were invented there. And so the Japanese came up with another unusual thing - Meat Balloons, which look like real meat products.

The creators of the unique balloons expect them to be used in store windows as a display product. Agree, this is very convenient, since such products do not attract insects and do not deteriorate.

5. Using a ball in making sweets

Chocolate can be used to make delicious cups. To do this, you will need the chocolate itself and a balloon, the size of which you choose according to your own desire. First, we make the base of the cup so that there is stability, for this we pour a spoonful of chocolate onto the surface. Then we dip the ball into hot chocolate and put it on the prepared base. Let it cool down and the cup is ready. This container can be used for filling desserts.

You can attach handles.

6. Water container

Resting in the country, you picked a beautiful bouquet of flowers and want to take it home. How to make sure that the flowers do not wither along the way? It turns out to be very simple. You need to take a dense balloon and use it as a container of water. To do this, the top can be cut off.

You can also make an unusual exclusive vase. You will need a jar and a balloon. Place the ball in a jar or bottle, fasten the edges to the neck. And the vase is ready. Pour water and admire the flower arrangement.

7. Food coolers

When it's hot, you want something cold to drink. If you went on a picnic with friends, then, unfortunately, there is no refrigerator in nature. Prepare in advance for the trip and freeze water in balloons. Now the food will not spoil, and soft drinks will be in sufficient quantity.

8. Headwear dryer

So that after washing your hat does not wrinkle and does not lose its shape, you can dry it on a balloon.

9. Sound amplifiers

It turns out that if you attach balloons to your ears, you can catch the subtlest sounds and enhance the effect of the volume of music. In Europe, especially among young people, listening to a classical music concert with balloons in their ears has become very popular.

So, as it turned out, the human imagination can work wonders. We are sure to have many more discoveries ahead of us.

We remind you that you can buy balloons and helium balloons from us. You can get acquainted with the assortment and prices.

And finally, we suggest watching a video that tells how balloons are made.

Looking at modern balloons, many people think that this bright, pleasant toy has only recently become available. Some, more knowledgeable, believe that balloons appeared somewhere in the middle of the last century, simultaneously with the beginning of the technical revolution. And in fact - no! The history of balloons filled with air began much earlier. Only now the great-great-grandfathers of our balls looked completely different from what they are now. And balloons were not born as entertainment at all.
The first references to the manufacture of balloons flying in the air that have come down to us are found in Karelian manuscripts. They describe the creation of such a ball, made from ... the skin of a whale and a bull! And chronicles of the 12th century tell us that in the Karelian settlements almost every family had a balloon. Moreover, it was with the help of such balls that the ancient Karelians partially solved the off-road problem - the balls helped people overcome the distances between settlements.

But such journeys, alas, were quite dangerous: the shell of animal skins could not withstand air pressure for a long time - that is, in other words, these balloons were explosive. And so, in the end, only legends remained from them, which you can either believe or not believe ...

There is also evidence that even the Aztecs used the insides of animals with patterns embroidered on them; inflated with air, they served as one of the components of the sacrifices. And in Europe, the intestines of animals as a "ball" were used by wandering artists. The ancient Roman historian Tacitus mentions "balls" filled with air, painted with drawings, which were festively decorated with banquet halls and used in sacrificial rites. The colorful, pagan Rome was followed by the medieval period, and the tradition of using balloons in the festivities received a new development.

A balloon or bubble is now a necessary attribute of performances and carnivals, an instrument of jesters and clowns, prototypes of modern circus actors and clowns. According to Karamzin, the chronicles contain detailed descriptions of the performances given by buffoons to Grand Duke Vladimir the Holy, where so-called bubbles made from bull's entrails were used. The rooms were decorated with painted bubbles, and they were also used as a subject of the game.

The first balls of the modern type were created by the famous English researcher of electricity, professor at Queen's University Michael Faraday. But he did not create them in order to distribute them to children or trade at a fair. He just experimented with hydrogen, noting the amazing properties of rubber along the way. - “Rubber is extremely elastic,” Faraday wrote in an article published in the Quarterly Journal of Science, “bags made from it, when filled with gas, became transparent and acquire lift ...” The way Faraday created his balloons is interesting.

He cut out two pieces of rubber, laid them on top of each other, glued the contour, and poured flour in the middle so that the sides did not stick to each other. Faraday's idea was taken up by rubber toy pioneer Thomas Hancock. He created his balloons in the form of a do-it-yourself kit consisting of a bottle of liquid rubber and a syringe. In 1847, vulcanized balls were introduced in London by J. G. Ingram. Even then, he used them as toys to sell to children. In fact, it is they who can be called the prototype of modern balls.

About 80 years after that, the scientific hydrogen bag turned into a popular pastime: rubber balloons were widely used in Europe during city holidays. Due to the gas that filled them, they could rise up - and this was very popular with the public, which had not yet been spoiled by either air flights or other miracles of technology. But these balloons were somewhat similar to their legendary predecessors: they used hydrogen (and, as you know, it is an explosive gas).

But, nevertheless, everyone got used to hydrogen - fortunately, there were no special troubles from balloons with this gas until 1922. Then in the USA, at one of the city holidays, a joker blew up the decoration of the holiday for fun - that is, balloons. As a result of this explosion, an official was injured, and therefore law enforcement agencies reacted quite quickly. The fun, which turned out to be quite dangerous, was finally stopped by forbidding filling balloons with hydrogen. Nobody suffered from this decision - the place of hydrogen in the balloons was instantly taken by much safer helium. This new gas lifted the balloons just as well as hydrogen did.

In 1931, Neil Tylotson released the first modern, latex balloon (polymer latex is obtained from aqueous dispersions of rubber). And since then, balloons have finally been able to change! Before that, they could only be round - and with the advent of latex, for the first time, it became possible to create long, narrow balls. This innovation immediately found application: designers decorating the holidays began to create compositions from balloons in the form of dogs, giraffes, airplanes, hats ...

Neil Tylotson's company prospered, selling through the mail millions of kits of balloons designed to create funny figures. Of course, the quality of balloons at that time was far from the same as now: when inflated, the balloons lost some of their brightness, they were fragile and quickly burst. Therefore, balloons slowly lost their popularity - the fact that they can fly in the air in the twentieth century no longer seemed so wonderful, attractive ...

Therefore, long before the end of the 20th century, balloons began to be bought up only for city and children's holidays. Their production ceased to bring good profit - and as a result, many manufacturers of that time reoriented the work of their diggings to the production of contraceptives (which were also made from latex). But the inventors did not forget about balloons, they worked to improve them.

And finally the situation has changed! Now the industry produces such balloons that do not lose color when inflated - and in addition they have become much stronger and more durable. Therefore, now balloons have again become very popular - designers are willing to use them when decorating various holidays, concerts, presentations. Weddings, birthdays, citywide celebrations, PR campaigns, shows... - updated, bright balloons are everywhere in place.

How are latex balloons made? Modern balloons are made from latex, the plant resin of weeping trees. They grow in the equatorial forests of Brazil, Mexico and Malaysia. Latex is extracted in the same way as birch sap - they cut the bark and collect drops in containers along the groove. So latex is a natural, non-toxic, environmentally friendly raw material. Used balloons, falling into nature and exposed to bacteria, completely decompose, like tree foliage.

Its color - yellow, red, blue, green, ar receives from the coloring matter, which is directly added to this material. Pigments are various organic and inorganic compounds that are able to absorb certain wavelengths of visible light and reflect others. The strength of the balls can affect the pigment if the pigment particles of large size break the continuity and film, if the pigment reacts with any other ingredients in the ball.

To make the color of the ball as saturated as possible, those pigments are used that are in the diaspora of very, very small particles and do not react with any ingredients in the latex. The origin of latex is associated with Malaysia, where many rubber trees grow, from the juice of which rubber is created. At first, latex looks like juice or milk. But when this substance is removed from the tree, the remaining sap is called latex. To make solid balls, special equipment is needed: this is a smokehouse, and oil, and catalysts, and targeted additives, and water.

When all the ingredients are added, the latex is placed in an open container. In this case, the form used to create the balls must have some slope. The ball mold is first dipped in a coagulant to collect all the rubber particles on it, and then placed in the latex. The coagulant is calcium nitrate, water and/or alcohol. After the form is coated with a coagulant, it is dried and only then "sent" to the latex.

Further interesting events take place. The latex-coated form passes through a whole system of rotating brushes. They roll the balls into a conveyor which is used to "inflate" the balls. The nitrates are then leached by rinsing with hot water the molds in the latex shell, placed in an oven heated to 200 degrees Fahrenheit, thereby eliminating possible defects on the outside and inside of the balls.

When everything is ready, the rubber balls are removed from the mold - the product is ready! Quality balloons, which can not be complained about, are distinguished by the same wall thickness, a free opening for inflating air, a moving edge, quality gel bonds and a pleasant aftertaste. Further, the balls are processed, surface tension is performed, viscosity and chemical resistance are checked. The balls are treated with antiseptic chalks, pass through cleaning filters, washout and chemical formula states when using the ball.

It is important to be sure to retain as much heat as possible after stripping with low cycles leading to a drop in coagulant. In general, the production of balloons consists of the following stages: - acid baths are necessary, which are necessary once every eight hours or after each round; - clean water in the bath must be constantly updated and the very bottom of the bath must be thoroughly cleaned; - heating the bath to 70-80 C; - the first coagulant bath for bending the edge; - the second coagulant bath for balls at a temperature of 70 C; - ovens for drying; - immersion of a coagulant for latex - a plate for installing a latex film; - bending of an edge, leaching, removal of a residual charge of static electricity; - two oven tanks with a temperature of 80-90 degrees Celsius or more; - cooling with two fans, as well as air and roller stripping.

Since the quality of the latex, the degree of its purification, the duration of exposure to high temperatures, changes in temperature and humidity, the type and color of the coloring ingredients are always slightly different from each other, each batch of balloons received is in a sense unique and unrepeatable. The quality of the resulting balls depends on the equipment, the technology used and the discipline of the manufacturer when performing technological processes. How well the manufacturer is equipped with equipment, perfect technology, determines the consistency and accuracy of the production process, and, therefore, the quality of the final product.

It should be noted that, if possible, latex balloons should be stored in a place protected from the sun, since in the sun they begin to oxidize and lose their luster. With constant exposure to sunlight, the balls can stick together and deform. Now foil balloons are also popular. They come in different shapes, such as figures or round balls.

Foil balls are thicker than latex and therefore not so afraid of roughness, and in general are not so susceptible to environmental influences. As a rule, they are made from different types of material. The inner layer is made of layers of polyethylene film fused together, and a metal coating on top. Foil balloons, unlike latex balloons, are inflated using a special nozzle on a pump or gas cylinder.

Most foil balloons have a safety valve that closes on its own with a light finger pressure. Foil balloons stay inflated for a year without deforming. Like latex, foil balloons have microscopic pores in the surface of the shell, through which air or helium seeps after some time. But since the pores on the surface of the foil are significantly smaller than on latex, foil balloons last much longer.

Thanks to the French verb with the meaning "to manage", at least two words appeared in the Russian language. One of them - the word conductor - is a person who manages a group of musicians. The second word is called a controlled - in contrast to an uncontrolled hot air balloon - a balloon. Meet the airship.

1. By definition, an airship is an aircraft lighter than air, a balloon with an engine. The engine and allows the airship to move regardless of the direction of air flow. It is clear that airships appeared only after the advent of engines: before that, mankind dreaming of the sky managed with hot air balloons.

2. The French mathematician Jean Baptiste Marie Charles Meunier is considered the inventor of the airship. He came up with everything: the shape of an ellipsoid, three propellers for controllability, which had to be manually rotated by as many as 80 people, two shells: to change the volume of gas and, consequently, the flight altitude.

3. Meunier's ideas were implemented by a completely different person, the French engineer Henri Giffard. He designed the world's first airship with a three-horsepower steam engine. In September 1852, Giffard took it over the Paris Hippodrome and flew about 30 kilometers at an average speed of 10 kilometers per hour. It is from this flight that the era of motor aviation and the era of airships are counted.

4. Twenty years later, an internal combustion engine was installed on a similar aircraft - this was done by the German engineer Paul Henlein.

5. Giffard's airship is commonly called a soft airship. In such systems, the fabric casing also serves as a gas envelope. The great Tsiolkovsky noted the shortcomings of such airships: the inability to maintain altitude, the high probability of fires, and poor horizontal controllability.

6. If you install a metal truss in the lower part of the shell, you get a semi-rigid airship - such was the famous "Italy" by Umberto Nobile.

7. Tsiolkovsky criticized soft airships not unfounded: back in the 80s of the 19th century, he calculated and proposed a project for a large cargo airship of a rigid structure with metal skin.

8. Invented in Russia carried out in Germany. At his own expense, Count Zeppelin built a rigid airship and personally tested it. By the First World War, the Count's airships, which were named "Zeppelins" in his honor, became a means of transportation.

9. During the war, zeppelins bombed London, after it ended, they shuttled across the Atlantic, and one even made a round-the-world flight. Summed up zeppelins hydrogen, which was used instead of helium: after the explosion and fire of the airship "Hindenburg", nicknamed "heavenly" Titanic ", zeppelins went down in history.

10. In the USSR, the first airship was built in 1923. Then, at the main department of Glavvozdukhflot, they created the Dirigiblestroy and invited Nobile to the designers. Nobile coped, and created the semi-rigid Soviet airship "USSR V-5". Then they created the "USSR B-6", and he even set a world record for flight duration.

Recently, more and more often in the sky you can see how Aeronauts soar in balloons into the sky and "surf" the sky. Balloons can now be seen not only in the megacities of our country, but also in any small town. How wonderful it is to propose to your beloved in the air, or to give a few hours of amazing flight to your best friend over your hometown, or just to enjoy the beautiful bird's eye view yourself. As already mentioned, now it’s not a problem to pay and take to the skies, but how it all began, who created the balloon, who became the first passenger, you will find out further ...

The balloon as such was invented by the inventor brothers Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier, who launched the first balloon into the air on 06/05/1783. Strange as it may seem, the first passengers were animals: a ram, a rooster and a duck. The flight was successful and the landing too, except that the wing of the rooster was damaged, but as it turned out later, the ram that hit the rooster in flight was the cause. The first person to be in the air in a balloon was James Tyler, who took off to a height of 106 m and flew as much as 800 m in the sky.

How are balloon flights arranged: the basics in balloon flight are the laws of physics - the air that is inside the balloon has a lower density than the air outside the balloon, which is why the balloons fly. But if you change the temperature of the air in the balloon with the help of a balloon, then the balloon will soar up or fly down. It is customary to fly on balloons either at dawn or at sunset, since at this time the weather is calmer, and this is very important, since it is quite difficult to control the balloon, it all depends on the strength of the wind, and balloons cannot fly during rainy weather. weather. And the theory that balloons fly in the summer is false - after all, they are designed for flights both at 40 degrees of heat and at 20 of cold.

Up to 6 people can be in a hot air balloon (as balloons are commonly called) at the same time, and balloons fly in tourist flights at an altitude of 300 meters, although they can reach a height of 5000 m. Usually, when landing, the gondola lies on its side. Tourists usually stay in the air for no more than 2 hours, but on January 24, 2016, two of our compatriots Fedor Konyukhov and Ivan Menyailo broke the world record and stayed in the sky for 29 hours and 15 minutes.

And now some historical facts:
1. back in 1785, immediately after the creation of the hot air balloon, Jean-Pierre Blanchard and Dr. John Jeffreys crossed the English Channel, both of them unable to swim.

2. 18-19 centuries - the time of duels, not without a duel in a balloon, the first of these took place in 1806 in Paris. The aeronaut with a shot through the balloon crashed and died.

3. The first trip around the world was in 1999, Brian Jones and Bertrand Piccard became the record holders.

4. In 2013, 408 balloons simultaneously rose into the air in France - this became another world record.