Animals in the Air )) Can you believe that the history of the hot-air balloon began with a sheep, a duck and a chicken? One day in 1777, Joseph Montgolfier was relaxing in front…
Animals in the Air )) Can you believe that the history of the hot-air balloon began with a sheep, a duck and a chicken? One day in 1777, Joseph Montgolfier was relaxing in front of the fire with his laundry drying nearby. After a while, he noticed that one of his shirts had started to float upwards. The young man was curious about what was happening, so he threw some small pieces of paper into the fireplace to see if the same thing happened to them. When he saw them coming out of the chimney, he came to the conclusion that smoke had the power to lift things up and carry them through the air. Joseph loved science and wanted to become an inventor, so he started trying to think of a craft that would be able to capture smoke and heat and lift people off the ground. Along with his brother, Jacques, he began performing experiments on something that later became the first hot-air balloon. The Montgolfier brothers quickly realised that it was heat and not smoke that had the power to lift things. On 19th September 1783, they presented their first hot-air balloon which was made from paper and cloth. They burned some straw underneath it and the heat caused the balloon to float. As this was its first trip, the Montgolfier brothers were too nervous to go up in the balloon themselves. So, instead they put a sheep, a duck and a chicken in the basket that hung below the balloon for the two-mile journey. The new invention was a great success and the animals landed safe and sound. A huge crowd including some members of the French Royal Family gathered to watch the balloon floating high in the sky. Shortly afterwards, the brothers asked the king for permission to send men up in the balloon. The king agreed, and the first flight with human passengers took place in Paris on 21st November 1783, with great success. The balloon reached a height of around 150 metres as it floated over the Paris rooftops, starting a long tradition of hot-air ballooning. Краткий пересказ
История воздушного шара началась с экспериментов Жозефа Монтгольфера в 1777 году, когда он заметил, что его рубашка поднимается вверх от жара камина. Это вдохновило его на создание устройства, которое захватывало бы тепло, чтобы поднять людей в воздух. Вместе с братом Жаком они разработали первый воздушный шар. 19 сентября 1783 года они представили свой первый проект, напечатанный из бумаги и ткани, и, поджигая солому, заставили его подняться в воздух. Поскольку братья были слишком нервными, чтобы сами подняться, они отправили в корзине овцу, утку и курицу на двухмильное путешествие. Эксперимент прошел успешно, и животные приземлились в целости и сохранности. Толпа, включая членов французской королевской семьи, собралась, чтобы посмотреть на это событие. Вскоре после этого братья получили разрешение от короля отправить людей в воздушный шар, и первый полет с пассажирами состоялся в Париже 21 ноября 1783 года, достигнув высоты примерно 150 метров. Это стало началом долгой традиции полетов на воздушных шарах.
