Poems about balloons. History of hot air balloons

The first mentions of balloons can be called mythological... They relate to the legend of the ancient Karelians about flying in balloons made of whale and ox skin. They were used as a form of transport, carrying residents from village to village through swamps, forests and off-road terrain. There are tales of buffoons entertaining residents with painted bubbles made from animal intestines.

The actual confirmed invention of the hot air balloon belongs to the great physicist and chemist Michael Faraday. Great scientist and inventor, famous for his discoveries electromagnetic induction, the laws of electrolysis, who assembled a model of an electric motor and a transformer, drew attention to the sticky qualities of rubber resin. For experiments with hydrogen, he made a kind of bag out of rubber, which became the prototype of the modern flying ball.

People have been talking about air bags used for fun since 1847. It was then that J. G. Ingram introduced the celestial flying ball.

At first, hydrogen served as a filler. The light gas lifted the balloons high into the sky, delighting an audience unspoiled by the wonders of technology. Explosive canisters were used until an extreme prankster set the city's holiday decorations on fire in 1922. The explosion led to the use of safe helium as a filler.

Balloons acquired their modern latex shell thanks to a patented invention by Neil Tylotson in 1931.

Natural latex is obtained from the sap of rubber trees by dispersion of water in combination with salts and minerals. This is a durable, elastic and environmentally friendly material. Decomposes well in natural conditions.

The question of who invented the hot air balloon will certainly be of interest to every schoolchild. After all, this aircraft was created back in the 18th century and has stood the test of time, as it is still used in aeronautics today. Technology and materials change and improve, but the principle of operation has remained the same over the centuries. That is why turning to the personalities of those people who invented this new amazing means of transportation seems especially relevant.

short biography

The inventors were the Montgolfier brothers. They lived in the small French town of Annonay. Both were interested in science, crafts, and technology from childhood. Their father was an entrepreneur and had his own paper mill. After his death, the eldest of the brothers, Joseph-Michel, inherited it and subsequently used it for his invention.

For your scientific achievements he subsequently became administrator of the famous Parisian Conservatoire of Arts and Crafts. His younger brother Jacques-Etienne was an architect by training.

He was addicted scientific works the outstanding British natural scientist who discovered oxygen. This hobby led him to take part in all of his older brother's experiments.

Prerequisites

The story of who invented it must begin with an explanation of the conditions that made such an amazing discovery possible. By the second half of the 18th century, a number of important scientific discoveries, which allowed the brothers to put their own observations into practice. The discovery of oxygen has already been discussed above. In 1766, another British researcher G. Cavendish discovered hydrogen, a substance that subsequently began to be actively used in aeronautics. About ten years before the famous experience With the rise of the balloon, the famous French scientist A.L. Lavoisier developed a theory about the role of oxygen in oxidation processes.

Preparation

So, the story of who invented the hot air balloon is closely related to scientific life second half of the 18th century. IN in this case It is important to note that such an invention was made possible thanks to the above discoveries. The brothers were not only aware of the latest scientific discoveries, but also tried to implement them.

It was this thought that prompted them to create the ball.

They had at their disposal all the necessary materials for its production: the paper factory left to them by their father provided them with paper and fabrics. At first they made large bags, filled them with hot air and launched them into the sky. The first few experiments gave them the idea of ​​​​creating a large ball. At first, they filled it with steam, but when raised, this substance quickly cooled and settled in the form of water sediments on the walls of matter. Then it was decided to use hydrogen, which is known to be lighter than air.

However, this light gas quickly evaporated and escaped through the walls of matter. Even covering the ball with paper did not help, through which the gas still quickly disappeared. In addition, hydrogen was a very expensive substance, and the brothers were able to get it with great difficulty. It was necessary to look for another way to successfully complete the experiment.

Preliminary tests

When describing the activities of those who invented the balloon, it is necessary to point out the obstacles that the brothers had to face before their experiment was successfully completed. After the first two unsuccessful attempts Joseph-Michel proposed using hot smoke rather than hydrogen to lift the structure into the air.

This option seemed successful to the brothers, since this substance was also lighter than air and, therefore, could lift the ball upward. New experience turned out to be successful. The rumor of this success quickly spread throughout the town, and residents began to ask the brothers to conduct a public experiment.

Flight of 1783

The brothers scheduled the trial for June 5th. Both prepared carefully for this significant event. They made a ball that weighed more than 200 kilograms. He was without a basket - that indispensable attribute that we are used to seeing in modern designs. A special belt and several ropes were attached to it to hold it in the desired position until the air inside the shell was heated. The Montgolfier brothers' balloon had a very impressive appearance and made a huge impression on those gathered. Its neck was placed over a fire, which heated the air. Eight assistants held him down by ropes from below. When the shell was filled with hot air, the ball rose up.

Second flight

The basket balloon was also invented by these people. However, this was preceded by the enormous resonance that the discovery of unknown researchers from a small French town had. Scientists from the Academy of Sciences became interested in this discovery. King Louis XVI himself showed such interest in the flight of the balloon that the brothers were summoned to Paris. a new flight was scheduled for September 1783. The brothers attached a willow basket to the ball and claimed that it would support the passengers. They wanted to fly themselves, but there was a heated debate in the newspapers about the great risk. Therefore, to begin with, it was decided to raise the animals in a basket. On the appointed day, September 19, the ball, in the presence of scientists, courtiers and the king, rose up along with the “passengers”: a rooster, a ram and a duck. After a short flight, the ball caught on tree branches and sank to the ground. It turned out that the animals were doing well, and then it was decided that the balloon with the basket could support a person. After some time, the world's first air flight was carried out by Jacques-Etienne and the famous French scientist, physicist and chemist Pilatre de Rozier.

Types of balls

Depending on the type of gas with which the shell is filled, it is customary to distinguish three types of these flying devices. Those that rise with the help of hot air are called hot air balloons - after the name of its creators. This is one of the most convenient and safe ways filling matter with gas, which is lighter than air and, accordingly, can lift a basket with people in it. Different types hot air balloons allow travelers to choose the most convenient method of transportation. Special meaning This design has a balloon burner.

Its purpose is to constantly heat the air. In cases where it is necessary to lower the ball, it is necessary to open a special valve in the shell in order to cool the air. Those balls, the inside of which are filled with hydrogen, were called charliers - after another outstanding French chemist-inventor, a contemporary of the Montgolfier brothers, Jacques Charles.

Other types of devices

The merit of this researcher lies in the fact that he independently, without using the developments of his outstanding compatriots, invented his own balloon, filling it with hydrogen. However, his first experiments were unsuccessful, since hydrogen, being an explosive substance, came into contact with air and exploded. Hydrogen is an explosive substance, so its use when filling the shell aircraft associated with certain inconveniences.

Helium balloons are also called charliers. The molecular weight of this substance is greater than that of hydrogen, it has sufficient carrying capacity, it is harmless and safe. The only drawback of this substance is its high cost, which is why it is used for manned vehicles. Those balloons that are filled half with air and half with gases are called rosiers - after another contemporary of the Montgolfier brothers - the aforementioned Pilâtre de Rosier. He divided the shell of the ball into two parts, one of which he filled with hydrogen, the other with hot air. He tried to fly on his device, but the hydrogen caught fire, and he and his companion died. Nevertheless, the type of apparatus he invented received recognition. Balloons containing helium and air, or hydrogen, are used in modern aeronautics.

"story about hot air balloon and chair flight. And not just a flight, but a flight that received a very prestigious Darwin Award in 1982.

The balloon and chair flight was organized by Larry Walters, a retiree from the United States, one of the few people who not only received the Darwin Award, but survived the event that led to the award. For reference:

The Darwin Awards are a virtual prize given annually to individuals who have died or become incapable of childbearing in the most foolish manner and, as a result, have deprived themselves of the opportunity to contribute to and improve the gene pool of humanity. A prerequisite for receiving the prize is the complete absence of direct descendants.

Accordingly, and instructive story was this:

In 1982, Larry Walters, a retiree from Los Angeles, decided to fulfill his old dream - to fly, but not on an airplane. He invented his own way to travel by air. Walters tied forty-five helium-filled weather balloons, each one meter in diameter, to a comfortable chair. He sat down in a chair, taking a supply of sandwiches, beer and a shotgun. At a signal, his friends untied the rope holding the chair. Larry Walters was going to smoothly rise only thirty meters, but the chair, like a cannon, took off five kilometers.

The neighbors are discussing. Should I call 911? For what? The man flew away. Flying is not prohibited. The law has not been broken. There was no violence. America is a free country. If you want to fly, fly to hell.

...After about four hours, the dispatcher of a nearby airport hears a report from a pilot from an approaching airliner:

- Oh, by the way, guys, do you know that you have some asshole flying on a lawn chair in the landing flight?

- I'm sorry, what? — the dispatcher asks, hallucinating from overwork.

- It flies, I say. He grabbed onto his chair. After all, it’s an airport, I thought, who knows…

“Commander,” the dispatcher says, “do you have a problem?”

- I have? None, everything is fine.

— Do you want to hand over control to the co-pilot?

- For what? — the commander is amazed. - I didn’t understand you.

— Aircraft 1419, repeat the report to the dispatcher!

- I said that in your landing flight there is a mu**k flying on a lawn chair. It does not bother me. But the wind, you know...

The dispatcher plays a loud broadcast. The shift supervisor has square eyes. Firemen rush howling to the beginning of the strip and ambulance. Lane cleared, traffic suspended: emergency situation. The airliner lands as normal. An FBI agent and a psychiatrist run up the ladder.

Report from the next plane:

- Why the hell do you have a goat on balloons blocking the way here!.., do you even monitor the air?

There is quiet panic in the control room. Unknown psychotropic gas over the airport.

- Calm down, captain. Does anyone besides you see him?

- Should I abandon the helm and go into the cabin to question the passengers, which of them is blind?

- Why do you think they can go blind? What other symptoms of disorders can you name?

- Earth, I’m not counting anything, I just said that this nasty bird on strings works as an air barrier. And I can call working with your airport a frustration.

The dispatcher shakes his head and pours a glass of water on her and, having mixed up his hands, a cup of coffee: he has lost self-control.

Third plane:

- What do you mean??!!

- Oh. And in the direct, and in the philosophical... and in the aerodynamic.

The control room smells like a cool April Fool's prank, but the calendar doesn't confirm the date. The fourth board is chillingly polite:

— Earth, I’m reporting that some guy just nearly got into my left engine, creating a threat of an emergency. I don’t want to pollute the airwaves when landing. Upon completion of the flight, he is required to make a written report.

The controller looks into the airspace with the gaze of the Gorgon Medusa, killing everything that moves.

- ...And tell the students that if these idiots celebrate Halloween next to the landing approach, it will not end well! - asks the next one.

- How many are there?

- How should I know?

- Calm down, board. Report in order. What do you see?

— I can see the landing strip well.

- To hell with the strip!

- Didn't understand? In terms of?

- Continue landing!

- What am I doing? Earth, are you all right there?

- Report - are you observing an unidentified flying object?

- Why can’t you identify it? Very identifiable.

- What is this?

- Human.

- Is he some kind of super yogi who flies there?

- How do I know who he is?

- So. In order. Where do you see him?

- I don’t see it anymore.

- Why?

- Because he flew away.

- Earth, are you crazy? Are you using your brains? I'm coming to board you!

-Where is the man?

- Which?

- Which flies!!!

- What... did you launch it? What the hell? I didn't understand!

- He was?

- Flying man? -Yes!!!

- Of course he was? What am I, crazy?

- And now?

- I don’t have time to watch him! How do I know where he is! They let the devil into the landing flight and still demand to keep an eye on them! I don't care where he hangs out now!

- Calm down, captain. Can you describe it?

- asshole on a garden chair!

- Why does he fly?

- Because he’s an asshole! Catch him and ask why he, the aphid, flies!

- What keeps him in the air? — the dispatcher bursts into despair. - What kind of yetitian power? What aircraft??? He can't fly on a chair!!!

- So he has balls tied to his chair.

- Is God holding him by the balls in the air, or what?!

“Sir, I adhere to a traditional sexual orientation, and I don’t quite understand you, sir,” the flight answers in a politically correct manner. — He tied him to a chair air balloons, sir. Apparently they are inflated with light gas.

-Where did he get the balls from?

- Are you talking to me?

- Sorry, captain. We just want to check. Can you describe it?

- Well, guy. Not an old man. In shorts and a shirt.

- So. Is he white or black?

- It's blue.

- Captain? What does blue mean?...

— Do you know what the temperature is outside here? Try to fly without an airplane yourself.

This radio exchange in a madhouse goes to the rhythm of rap. Air traffic intense. The dispatcher asks for a pill for schizophrenia. Arrivals are being directed to alternate airports. Flights are delayed.

...Nothing on the radar! The man is small and not made of iron, the balls are small and rubber.

Contact the airbase. They explain and swear: the doctor on the phone confirms.

They raise the fighter.

... Our aeronaut in the underworld above the abyss, in prostration from horror, numb and stiff, frantically breathing icy rarefied air, with his dying gaze passes nearby liners roaring on their descent. He is stuck together and frozen together with his tiny armchair, he is rocking and dragging, and his consciousness is pupated.

Another roar echoes louder and nearby - a fighter flies a hundred meters away. The pilot's head in the spacious canopy turns in his direction with curiosity. In the distance, a fighter makes a turn, and on the return flight the pilot twists his finger at his temple.

Our former student pilot cannot stand this, the visual center in the frozen brain transmits the command to inject adrenaline, the heart pumps blood, and he shows the pilot the middle finger.

“Alive,” the fighter reports disapprovingly to the base.

Well. A police helicopter is being raised.

And it’s getting evening... It’s getting dark! It's getting colder. And in the evening breeze, according to the laws of meteorology, the balloons slowly drift towards the sea. He is already drifting over the shore.

They're yelling and waving from the helicopter! Of course, you couldn't hear anything over the noise. They are trying to pick it up from above with a hook on a cable, but a powerful jet from the propeller blows the balls to the side, the chair dangles swaying, as if it wouldn’t fall out!…

AND rescue operation ends according to his own recipe, which is somewhat offensive... The helicopter returns with a sniper, blinds with a searchlight from a hundred meters, and the sniper shoots the upper probe. And the second one. They look with doubt... Is it decreasing?

All the coastal boats are already hanging out below. The free public on arbitrary watercraft enjoys the spectacle and disturbs coast guard. Their heads are up, and someone has already fallen into the water.

The third ball bursts with a bang, and the decline of the bunch becomes obvious.

On the fifth shot through the ball, our guy splashes into the waves with a smack and splash.

But the ropes on which the deflated balloons hung became entangled in high-voltage wires, causing a short circuit. An entire area of ​​Long Beach was left without power.

The headlights are shining, the breakers are turning white, the boats are racing! They drag him out of the water and begin to tear him off the chair.

The doctor feels the pulse in the neck, looks into the pupils, puts ammonia in the nose, injects caffeine with glucose and relaxants into the vein. As soon as the doctor turns away, they pour a glass of whiskey down the victim’s throat, rub their ears, hit them in the face... and only then, with the help of four sailors, do they unclench their fingers and unravel their legs, which are twisted with a screw around the legs of the chair.

Under torture (meaning, during the massage), he began to come to his senses. He chatters his teeth on his own. He smiles when pins are driven into his muscles, which are stony from cramps. And finally says the first a swear word. That is, life is getting better.

And when he is loaded into an ambulance on the embankment, and press flashes blind the crowd, a nosy correspondent manages to stick a microphone between the orderlies and shout:

- Tell me, why did you do all this?

He replied: " Well, you can't sit idle all the time".

Accordingly, if you want not to sit idle, then first you should think a little better about what you are going to do :)

Colorful, rainbow balloons will decorate any event, lift the most disgusting mood, and give joy and good emotions to any person, regardless of age.

If you stare at a cluster of multi-colored balloons and cannot help but be delighted when looking at them and are madly sorry when they burst, it means that in your soul you remain just as impressionable and emotional child like kids running around. Then our article is also for you.

As it turns out, in the old days they also adored Balloons. But they were made by filling the intestines of livestock with air.

The most expensive air-filled balloons were made in 1970 for use by the New York City Ballet. They were made from metallized nylon, a very durable material. These balloons are much more expensive than their modern latex counterparts.

By the way, latex balloons are biodegradable, meaning they do not harm the environment.

Various balloons are filled with lighter-than-air gas, such as hydrogen. For a long time they were called by the name of the first scientist Jacques Charles who launched them - Charlesres. For the first time such a large balloon was launched on the Champ de Mars in Paris. This took place on August 27, 1783.

With the advent of large Vehicle There were also related disasters. One of the first accidents was a hot air balloon crash in Ireland. This happened in 1785.

In the 20th century, huge airships and other balloons began to be used, first for transportation and later for protection. airspace. During the war, they fulfilled their task with honor.

The rubber ball was first created by Michael Faraday in 1824. He connected several pieces of rubber, fastening their ribs.

Helium-filled balloons were originally intended for use in astronautics. In 1985, they were dropped into the atmosphere of the planet Venus using Soviet probes.

The smallest hole in a balloon results in a supersonic explosion. The air accumulated inside begins to rush out with such force that it tears its sphere at the speed of sound. This creates a loud explosion that can frighten the most persistent daredevil.

Where do the latex balloons launched into the sky go? It has been established that they rise to a height of 5 km, then freeze there and break into pieces that scatter throughout the world. Sometimes they fall to the ground and gradually decompose. If an animal accidentally swallows a piece of latex, it will not cause harm to its health.

The most massive launch of balloons is considered to be the event dedicated to the release of the new blockbuster - the cartoon "Aladdin". The celebration took place at Disney Park in England in August 1994. Then 1,592,744 helium balloons soared into the sky.

The record for the use of balloons was set in Singapore. There, a robot figure was created from 80 thousand colorful balls. Fifty people worked on it for two days.

For many years, one of the unattainable desires of people was the ability to fly or at least rise into the air. What kind of inventions have not been invented to make this happen? Once, the fact was recorded that objects light weight can rise when exposed to hot air, this was the impetus for the development of aeronautics.

It is believed that the world's first hot air balloon was created in 1783. How did this happen? History sends us back to the distant XVI-XVII centuries. It was then that prototypes of the first balls appeared, which could not show themselves in practice. In parallel, in 1766, the chemist Henry Cavendish first described in detail the properties of a gas such as hydrogen, which the Italian physicist Tiberio Cavallo used in his work with soap bubbles. He filled the bubbles with this gas, and they quickly rose into the air, since hydrogen is 14 times lighter than air. This is how the main two lifting forces used in balloon flights even today appeared - hydrogen and hot air.

These discoveries did not solve all the problems of flight operations. To create a balloon, a special material was required that would not be too heavy and would also be able to hold gas inside. The solution to this problem was carried out by scientists and inventors different ways. Moreover, several designers competed for the championship of discoveries, the main ones being the brothers Jacques-Etienne and Joseph-Michel Montgolfier, as well as famous professor Jacques Alexandre Charles from France.

The Montgolfier brothers did not have special knowledge about the properties and characteristics of various gases, but he had a great desire for discovery. At first they experimented with smoke and steam. There were attempts to use hydrogen, but they were affected by the problem of the lack of special fabric that would not allow this gas to pass through. Also, its cost was quite expensive, and Montgolfier returned to experiments with hot air.

The first hot air balloon was created in 1782. It was made by the Montgolfier brothers, although it was small in size, only 1 cubic meter in volume. But still, it was already a real ball, which rose to a height of more than 30 meters above the ground. Soon the experimenters made a second balloon. It was already much larger than its predecessor: with a volume of 600 cubic meters and 11 meters in diameter, a brazier was placed under the ball. The fabric for the balloon was silk, covered with paper with inside. The ceremonial launch of the balloon in the presence of a large public took place on June 5, 1783, which was organized by the already famous Montgolfier brothers. Using hot air, the balloon was raised to a height of 2 thousand meters! They even wrote to the Paris Academy about this fact. Since then, hot air balloons that use hot air have been called hot air balloons after their inventors.

Such achievements of Montgolfier prompted Jacques Alexandre Charles to intensify the development of his new invention - a balloon that uses hydrogen to rise. He had assistants - the Robert brothers, mechanics. They managed to produce a silk ball impregnated with rubber, the diameter of which was 3.6 m. They filled it with hydrogen using a special hose with a valve. A special installation was also made for gas production, which was obtained as a result chemical reactions when metal filings interact with water and sulfuric acid. To prevent fumes from the acid from spoiling the shell of the ball, the resulting gas was purified using cold water.

The first hydrogen-powered balloon was launched on August 27, 1783. It happened on the Champ de Mars. In front of two hundred thousand people, the ball rose so high that it was no longer visible behind the clouds. After 1 km, the hydrogen began to expand, as a result of which the shell of the balloon ruptured, and the balloon fell to the ground in a village near Paris. But they knew nothing about such an important experiment, and before the inventors had time to arrive, the frightened residents tore the unusual ball to shreds. Thus the great invention, worth 10,000 francs, fell into disrepair. Since 1783, hydrogen-powered balloons have been called charliers, in honor of Charles.