This is how they rise to the stars. Montgolfier brothers and their invention. The first balloon flight of the Montgolfier brothers The Montgolfier brothers invented the hot air balloon briefly

November 21, 1783 is a significant day in the history of aeronautics. On this day, two brave Frenchmen: Pilatre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlande, for the first time in history, flew in a hot air balloon of the Montgolfier brothers. The aeronauts reached a height of 915 m and covered a distance of 9 km in 25 minutes.

The brothers Joseph and Jacques-Etienne had the idea to make their own unique invention - Balloon, which could cover decent distances. Numerous studies by various chemists and physicists led them to this decision. So, in 1766, after the discovery of hydrogen, Henry Cavendish found out that the so-called "combustible air" is several times less dense than the air itself. The Montgolfier brothers decided to conduct their experiments by filling shirts with hot air from a fire, and then paper bags. Further, numerous tests were carried out to launch balls made of silk and linen. Filled items rose to the ceiling, which was already a huge breakthrough. This invention of the brothers was supposed to help in military affairs - Joseph thought over the option of an air attack on the enemy, when there was no approach to land.

Such experiments, despite their simplicity, made a huge breakthrough in aeronautics. Nevertheless, the brothers relied on the erroneous opinion that the burning of a special mixture of wool and straw creates a kind of "electric smoke" that could lift a light body filled with it. Montgolfier took a paper ball with a hole at the bottom and filled it with hot gases, which were lighter than air as long as their temperature was high. The successor of their work, Saussure, tried to lift up a ball filled with air heated by a red-hot iron strip inserted into the hole in the ball. However, the experiment always remained unfinished.

The researchers carefully prepared for each experiment, constantly changing the size of the spheres and the composition of combustible substances. In 1782, Joseph and Jacques-Étienne set about making a three cubic meter test balloon filled with hot air. The experiment was a success, and therefore the brothers further decided to increase the size of the ball in diameter by several tens of times. The sphere was made of cotton and covered with paper. It consisted of four parts - a dome and three side bands. In total, the structure, weighing more than 225 kilograms and with a volume of 800 cubic meters, was completed in April 1783.

On June 4, 1783, a public demonstration of the invention of the Montgolfier brothers took place, which was attended by a huge number of people. Within ten minutes, the balloon gained altitude, and 4,000 feet from the launch site fell to the ground. It was a scientific success, however, requiring careful development. The French inventor and scientist Jacques Charles then also decided to try himself in the field of aeronautics - he filled the balloon with hydrogen, which gave a significant leap in research. Depending on the various ways filling balloons they received different names. So, spheres filled with warm air were called hot air balloons, and hydrogen - charliers. The first Charlière was launched from the Champ de Mars in Paris on August 27, 1783. It should be noted that all the experiments carried out were carried out only in balls without passengers, since there was a danger of structures falling from a great height.

Information about the successful launch of a huge balloon reached the top - the Academy of Sciences, which offered Montgolfier funding for all experiments. Naturally, this was tempting offer, since all the funds for previous experiments were from the brothers' own pocket. And then Montgolfier decided to go further - to create a ball bigger size, this time with a volume of a thousand cubic meters and a weight of 450 kilograms. Despite some difficulties in manufacturing, in the fall of the same year, the sphere was ready.

On September 19, 1783, at Versailles, the experimental brothers for the first time released a balloon into the air, in a wicker basket of which there were a sheep, a rooster and a goose. The entire flight took about eight minutes, during which the structure covered a distance of three kilometers. At a height of 500 meters, the sphere broke through, but descended to the ground so smoothly that not a single animal was hurt. This event marked a new round in the development of aeronautics, it was only necessary to find a more durable material in order to be able to lift people into the air.

Encouraged by the successful demonstration at Versailles, Joseph and Jacques-Étienne set about making the largest balloon that could lift two people into the air. The younger brother began to design a new invention, slightly changing the drawings of the previous spheres. The new balloon was strikingly different from its predecessors - it had an oval shape, more than 13 meters in diameter, a volume of more than 2 thousand cubic meters and a weight of 500 kilograms. Moreover, it was festively decorated - one could see the figure of the king on a blue background, as well as signs of the zodiac and numerous flowers.

It is time for people to test the strength of the balloon. Jacques-Etienne dreamed of flying on a joint invention with his brother, but their father strictly forbade this. Therefore, such an honor fell to Pilatre de Rozier and the army officer - the Marquis d'Arlande.

The debut flight took place on the western outskirts of Paris on November 21, 1783. The experience was quite successful - the balloon rose up almost one kilometer, and in 25 minutes it was able to cover a distance of nine miles. This scientific discovery literally blew up France - in all stores you could buy various souvenirs in the form of balloons, dishes were full of pictures with them. Already on December 10, 1783, Joseph and Jacques-Étienne were invited to the Academy of Sciences, where they were awarded for achievements in aeronautics, and their father Pierre received a title of nobility. In 1783, Louis XVI calls Etienne and Joseph from Annon to Paris, grants them a title of nobility and a coat of arms with the motto "Thus they rise to the stars." For outstanding achievements in the field of aeronautics, Louis XVI awarded Etienne and Joseph Montgolfier with the Order of Saint Michael.

Undoubtedly, after such a resounding success, allegations appeared in the press that the balloon project was invented 74 years ago by the priest Bartolomeu de Gusmao. However, no serious arguments were given, and this application was annulled.

The balloons of the Montgolfier brothers were called "hot air balloons" and are still used today. These are modern hot air balloons that rise due to heated air. The shell is made of light heat-resistant synthetic, very durable fabric. The burners installed in the gondola under the dome and warming up the air in the shell run on propane-butane.

FIRST BALLOON FLIGHT (1783, FRANCE)

A drawing describing the balloon by the Montgolfier brothers in 1783: "View and exact dimensions of the Balloon Globe, which was the first." 1786

People have always dreamed of mastering the airspace.
Thinking about this now, we cannot even imagine how significant the event was then - the first flight in a balloon.

Among the pioneers of aeronautics are the Montgolfier brothers, who were obsessed with the idea of creating an aircraft to lift a person into the air.

Brothers Montgolfier: on the left - Joseph, on the right - Etienne (engraving of the 19th century).
At the first public display of their balloon, Joseph was 43 years old and Étienne was 38 years old.
Etienne's image is copied from a portrait by his daughter.

Frenchman Joseph Montgolfier, born in 1740, showed great interest in new inventions, which were very successful in those days. Together with his younger brother named Etienne, they constantly thought about how a person could conquer the air. One day, the brothers had an idea to fill a shell with clouds that would hold a basket of passengers, but they did not know how to bring this idea to life.
One day, the older brother, standing by the fireplace, noticed that the shirt he was holding over the fire was slightly swollen, and at that very moment a brilliant idea came into his head. He immediately told Etienne about what he saw and the brothers were interested in one question - what shape should the balloon used in their first experiments have.

The first positive success in aeronautics fell to the lot of the Montgolfier brothers - based, however, on the erroneous idea that from the burning of a special mixture of wool and straw an “electric smoke” is formed that can lift a light body filled with it, they achieved the rise of a ball made of paper with a hole below, filling the balloon with hot gases that were lighter than air while their temperature was still high enough.

In 1782, the Brothers Jean-Etienne and Joseph-Michel Montgolfier, who were fond of dynamic aeronautics and also tried to experiment with hydrogen-filled shells, familiar with this discovery, came to the conclusion that the cause of the rise of clouds is their electrification.
In order to obtain a gas with electrical properties, they began to burn wet straw and wool. They used this material by analogy with the processes occurring in an electrograph, and water was added to produce steam similar to the composition of clouds.
They called their balls (at first they were rectangular and only then spherical) aerostatic machines.

The brothers worked in their garden in secret from others. However, as their experiments involving directly launching balloons began to be repeated more and more often, they began to fear that those living in the neighborhood would see their achievement and appropriate the idea for themselves.
Soon the brothers decided to demonstrate the launch of their ball in the central square of Annona. Specially invited guests had to document what was happening. In early June 1783, the brothers organized this event
One of these balls, 3.5 meters in diameter, was shown to relatives and friends. The ball, having risen to a height of 300 meters, stayed in the air for about 10 minutes. After that, the Montgolfier brothers built a shell with a diameter of more than 10 meters, it was made of canvas, in the upper part it was pasted over from the inside with paper and reinforced with a rope tape.

The first public demonstration of the flight of a balloon filled with hot air is presented in an engraving in a somewhat fantastic form.
The demonstration of this ball took place on the market square in the city of Annone on June 5, 1783.
A protocol was drawn up, which reflected all the details of the flight.
The ball rose to a height of 500 meters and stayed in the air for about 10 minutes, while flying 2 kilometers.

On September 19, 1783, in Versailles (near Paris), in the presence of King Louis XVI in the courtyard of his castle, at one o'clock in the afternoon, a balloon soared into the air, carrying the first air travelers in its basket, which were a ram, a rooster and a duck. The balloon flew 4 kilometers in 10 minutes.
It took 2 poods (32 kg) of straw and 5 pounds (2.3 kg) of wool to fill it.
At a considerable height, the ball broke through, but descended so smoothly that the animals did not suffer at all.
Two months later, people made the first flight on a hot air balloon.

The first flight of a man in a balloon filled with hot air took place in Paris on November 21, 1783.
The new ball built by the Montgolfier brothers was of the following dimensions: height 22.7 meters, diameter 15 meters.
An intricately painted ball rose from the gardens of the Château de la Muet in the western suburbs of Paris.
In its lower part, a circular gallery was attached, designed for two people. But the King of France, Louis XVI, forbade the Montgolfier brothers - the people who gave life to the balloon, to take a personal part in the flight.

And for the first time in history, the chemist Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier, along with his friend Marquis Francois d'Arlande, set off for a free flight in a balloon built by the Montgolfier brothers.
The date of this discovery can be safely called the beginning of aeronautics.

The basket with two passengers weighed about 730 kg.
The aeronauts reached a height of 915 meters and covered a distance of 9 km in 25 minutes, and then landed safely in an open area near the road to Fontainebleau.

Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier (1756-1785) was a French physicist, chemist, one of the pioneers of aviation.
On June 15, 1785, he wanted to fly over the English Channel in a balloon, but the balloon caught fire, and Rosier died with his companion Romain.

Closely associated with the first flights of manned and unmanned balloons are the names of four outstanding chemists - Joseph Black, Henry Cavendish, Joseph Priestley and Antoine Lavoisier, whose work paved the way for a clear understanding of the chemical nature of matter.
In the following years, many balloon flights were made in Europe.

The balloon has long ceased to be exotic.
Today, hot air ballooning is available to everyone.

Music - M. Dunaevsky - Mary Poppins, goodbye! (1983) / Balloons

Brothers Joseph and Étienne Montgolfier launched a balloon filled with hot smoke in Versailles. The passengers were a sheep, a rooster and a duck. The flight, which lasted 8 minutes, was observed by King Louis XVI of France and his wife Marie Antoinette. The quacking, bleating and crowing of a cock that came from above, one must think, confused a lot of onlookers, over whom the ball floated. The brothers were invited to the capital by the French Academy after a successful test of the ball in their hometown Annone in June of that year. In two months, a man will also rise into the air.

For the first time, a person went on a free flight in a balloon that rose from the garden of the Chateau de la Muet in the western suburbs of Paris on November 21, 1783. His passengers were the young director of the Paris Museum of Science Pilatre de Rozier and the army officer Marquis d "Arlande, who had extensive connections with Court of Louis XVI, In a balloon filled with hot air, built by the brothers Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier, they spent about 25 minutes in the air, flying almost 10 km during this time, and landed safely in an open area near the road to Fontainebleau.

The flight itself was a remarkable event, but beyond that, it seemed to sum up the greatest achievement of chemistry: the rejection of the phlogiston theory of the structure of matter, which collapsed when it turned out that different gases had different weights. Closely associated with the first flights of manned and unmanned balloons are the names of four outstanding chemists - Joseph Black, Henry Cavendish, Joseph Priestley and Antoine Lavoisier, whose work paved the way for a clear understanding of the chemical nature of matter.

The first public demonstration of the flight of a balloon filled with hot air is presented in an engraving in a somewhat fantastic form. The experiment was carried out by the brothers Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier on June 4, 1783 in Annon (France). The ball was a spherical linen bag lined with paper, had a diameter of 11 m and weighed 227 kg. It was filled with hot air over a fire. The flight lasted 10 minutes.

The Montgolfier brothers lived in Annone, a town in the vicinity of Lyon. They were obsessed with the idea of flight and came up with the idea that if you inflate a paper bag with hot air, it could fly. At the end of 1782, the brothers made two preliminary experiments, which showed that a large bag filled with smoke from a fire should go up. The brothers staged the first public demonstration in Annona on June 4, 1783. The balloon was a spherical linen bag covered with paper. It had a diameter of 11 m and weighed about 227 kg. The balloon was inflated over a fire in which finely chopped straw was burned. When he was released, he climbed quite high and descended after 10 minutes, flying about three kilometers during this time. The flight made a great impression on the audience, and the news of this experiment spread throughout France and all of Europe.

Two months later, another group of enthusiasts launched a different type of balloon in Paris. The experiment was led by physicist Jacques Charles. Knowing the results of the latest gas research, Charles decided to fill the balloon with hydrogen. Since the paper cover could not hold hydrogen, the ball was made from a thin silk cloth impregnated with latex. Hydrogen was obtained by exposing iron filings to sulfuric acid. To completely inflate a balloon with a diameter of 4 m, it took several days and 227 kg of acid and 454 kg of iron were used up. On August 27, a huge crowd gathered to watch the launch of the balloon on the Champ de Mars. The ball stayed in the air for 45 minutes and eventually landed near the town of Gonesse, 28 km from the launch site. He so scared the locals that they tore him to shreds.

Three weeks later, the Montgolfier brothers repeated their experience at Versailles, this time in the presence of Louis XVI and his court. It was much easier to fill the balloon with hot air than with hydrogen, and after 10 minutes it was ready to fly. A small cage was hung from it, in which there were a ram, a duck and a rooster. This time the ball was no longer just a bag - it was brightly painted with oil paints. The flight ended in a forest 3.5 km from the launch site. None of the first aeronauts were hurt.

The first flight of a man in a balloon filled with hot air took place in Paris on November 21, 1783. The intricately painted balloon, built by the Montgolfier brothers, was 14 m in diameter and more than 21 m in height. The basket with two passengers, Pilatre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arland, weighed about 730 kg. It is believed that this is a view from the terrace of Benjamin Franklin's house in Passy.

As soon as the possibility of flying in a balloon was proved, its practical implementation was not slow to materialize. In October, de Rozier climbed 25 m on a tethered hot air balloon and stayed in the air for more than 4 minutes. A month later, he and d "Arlande made their historic flight over Paris. Charles did not want to give in and on December 1, taking one passenger, he left Paris on a balloon filled with hydrogen. The flight lasted 2 hours and ended 50 km from Paris in a small town Nesle Here the passenger got off, and Charles continued his journey, rising to a height of more than 3.5 km.In just some 6 months, a man took to the air and learned to fly.

Aeronautics developed rapidly. In August 1784, the French chemist Guyton de Moro and Abbé Bertrand, who accompanied him, reached a height of more than 3 km, measuring temperature and air pressure along the way. In January next year French balloonist Jean Pierre Blanchard and American physician John Jeffreys crossed the English Channel for the first time, flying from Dover to Calais.

After the Annonay flight, the French Academy of Sciences, at the request of the government, created a commission that was supposed to prepare a report on this experiment and develop a plan for further research. A prominent member of the commission was Lavoisier, a French chemist whose scientific discoveries, along with those of other scientists, formed the basis for the creation of the first balloons. The French government seems to have considered the invention of the hot air balloon a major achievement, since it took upon itself the costs of a number of subsequent flights planned by the commission.

The reaction of British scientists to the invention of the balloon was more restrained. In November 1783, a balloon filled with hydrogen was demonstrated to King George III and his courtiers at Windsor. The ball made a great impression on the king, and he sent a message to the president of the Royal Society of London, Sir Joseph Banks, in which he offered to finance further research in the field of aeronautics. However, the answer was that since these experiments could not be expected " any benefit, society is not interested in them.

At the same time, the military importance of balloons was quickly appreciated. Barely a month after the Windsor spectacle, a pamphlet was published on the subject. Soon Benjamin Franklin expressed himself in a letter as follows:

“The invention of the balloon, as you see, is a discovery of paramount importance. One of its consequences may be the refusal of monarchs from wars, since even the most powerful of them will not be able to defend their possessions. Five thousand balloons, capable of lifting two men each, will hardly cost more than five battleships, and where is the ruler who could cover his country with troops capable of protecting it from ten thousand warriors who descended from the sky in many places and are ready to strike irreparable damage to the state before it is possible to gather troops and repulse them?

Sources: "The Invention of the Balloon and the Birth of Modern Chemistry" - by Arthur F. Scott,Portal "Holidays.ru"

In France in 1783, to the sons of the owner of a paper mill, brothers Etienne and Joseph Montgolfier managed to make a balloon that could lift a person.

There was a demonstration of the flight of a balloon with a diameter of 12 meters. It was a huge bag, sewn from canvas and glued with paper, which was hung in the square of the city of Annona above three-story houses, and no one believed that it could rise into the air.

Wool, paper, wood, wet straw were burned in a firebox under the shell. "... the simultaneous burning of wool and straw connects the animal with the vegetable and forms a smoke with electrical properties" - this is a description of the driving force of the balloon from the point of view of the Montgolfier brothers.

Wet straw was not used by chance, but the explanation for this was found later. If the shell is filled with heated raw air, then the lift force of the balloon will be greater than when it is filled with dry air of the same temperature. The shell has become fill with warm air and soon acquired the shape of a ball. The load capacity of the ball was about 205 kg.

Etienne and Joseph were madly afraid of heights and did not dare to go on an air flight themselves. In addition, the balloon's paper shell was fragile and often burned up in the air as it rose. Therefore, the first living creatures to fly in a balloon were a sheep, a duck and a rooster. This event was attended by King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. For 8 min. the balloon flew at an altitude of 520 m for about 3 km. Only the rooster suffered during the flight, because. a ram stepped on him.

After some time, a new balloon flight of the Montgolfier brothers took place.
A hot air balloon rose into the sky with two passengers on board. They were Francois Pilatre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlande. This basket was cramped and the aeronauts could hardly fit in it.

The ball burned out in several places. François Pilatre de Rozier and Marquis d'Arlande became the first aeronauts in world history in 25 minutes of free flight in a hot air balloon.

In January 1784 was produced third balloon launch with passengers. On the giant hot air balloon "Les Flesselles" 8 people took off into the air. On the at a height of 800 meters the shell cracked, balloonists escaped with minor bruises.
In 1783, Louis XVI calls Étienne and Joseph from Annon to Paris, grants them title of nobility and coat of arms with the motto "So rise to the stars." For outstanding achievements in the field of aeronautics, Louis XVI awarded Etienne and Joseph Montgolfier with the Order of Saint Michael.

The beginning of the way

It all started on June 5, 1783, when the sons of the French paper manufacturer Montgolfier created a huge ball of paper with a volume of 600 cubic meters. Through a lattice of vine branches, it was filled with smoke from a fire and climbed 500 meters. After 10 minutes, when the smoke had cooled, the ball landed 2 km from the launch site.

On September 19, 1783, after working all summer to improve the design, the Montgolfier brothers sent the first living souls flying: a ram, a rooster and a duck. And on November 21, in a fairly strong and reliable basket, two French nobles ventured into the air. Having flown 9 km at an altitude of 1000 meters, they, together with the balloon, returned to earth unharmed and began to be revered as heroes.

But the Montgolfier brothers were not the only ones to invent the first balloons. In parallel with them, another Frenchman worked on the invention of the aircraft: the physicist Charles. He created a more promising model by using hydrogen instead of smoke, thereby greatly extending the stay of the structure in the air and making its more compact dimensions possible. On August 27, 1783, his invention - a ball of about 200 cubic meters made of rubber-impregnated silk, successfully lifted off the ground and, covering a distance of 28 km, landed safely in almost an hour.

Further work

Jacques Charles continued to work on his aircraft. He introduced improvements that increased the strength of the shell of the ball and, to some extent, made it safer to fly. He invented a way to measure altitude and control it in flight and landing. His innovations, a rope net for a ball, sandbags for ballast, a gas valve, an air anchor, made his aircraft a real vehicle, allowing you to move quickly and safely over long distances.

The only drawback, explosive hydrogen, was replaced over the years with safe helium, but continued to be used on unmanned charliers. In Russia, the first flight of a balloon and a man took place in 1804 in St. Petersburg. Then balloons were used mainly for scientific research.

Improvement of air aircraft continued in the future. Currently, balloons are not only a means for practical purposes, but also a beautiful and popular sport. And the first scientists who invented the balloon will forever remain in the history of aeronautics and human memory.