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 hydrogen and/or balloon:
“All you of Earth are idiots!... First was your firecracker, a harmless explosive. Then your hand grenade. They begin to kill your own people a few at a time. Then the bomb. Then a larger bomb, many people are killed at one time. Then your scientists stumbled upon the atom bomb—split the atom. Then the hydrogen bomb, where you actually explode the air itself.”
—Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1922–1978)
“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)