The First Hydrogen Balloon
In France during 1783, the first public experiment with hydrogen-filled balloons involved Jacques Charles, a French professor of Physics and the Robert brothers, renowned constructors of physics instruments. Charles provided large quantities of hydrogen, which had only been produced in small quantities previously, by mixing 540 kg of iron and 270 kg of sulfuric acid. The balloon called Charlière took 5 days to fill and was launched from Champ de Mars in Paris where 300,000 people gathered to watch the spectacle. The balloon was launched and rose through the clouds. The expansion of the gas caused the balloon to tear and descended 45 minutes later 20 km away from Paris.
Read more about this topic: High-altitude Balloon, History
Famous quotes containing the words the first, hydrogen and/or balloon:
“In the first of the moon,
All’s a scattering,
A shining.”
—Theodore Roethke (1908–1963)
“The pace of science forces the pace of technique. Theoretical physics forces atomic energy on us; the successful production of the fission bomb forces upon us the manufacture of the hydrogen bomb. We do not choose our problems, we do not choose our products; we are pushed, we are forced—by what? By a system which has no purpose and goal transcending it, and which makes man its appendix.”
—Erich Fromm (1900–1980)
“When I am on a stage, I am the focus of thousands of eyes and it gives me strength. I feel that something, some energy, is flowing from the audience into me. I actually feel stronger because of these waves. Now when the play’s done, the eyes taken away, I feel just as if a circuit’s been broken. The power is switched off. I feel all gone and empty inside of me—like a balloon that’s been pricked and the air’s let out.”
—Lynn Fontanne (1887–1983)