Types of flying apparatus
The earliest form of air transport was balloons, which are sometimes called “free balloons” because they are forced to drift by the wind flow without any engine. This fact alone makes balloons not reliable enough for carrying people. If they were safer they would be used more for transportation, but at present the scientists use the balloons mostly for obtaining information about upper atmosphere, its density and other scientific subjects. Weather balloons are particularly used by meteorologists. They carry instruments whose readings are automatically sent back to the ground by the radio. The position of the balloon is obtained by radar.
The first balloons were done by Montgolfier brothers in the 18-th century.
Etienne and Joseph Montgolfier lived in a little village in France where their father had a paper factory. The two brothers took paper bags from their father, filled them with smoke over a fire and watched them go up into the air.
After numerous experiments they were ready to show how their balloons worked. On the day of the flight people from different places came to the little village to see the spectacle. The brothers had constructed a bag some thirty feet in diameter. That big bag was held over a fire. When it was in the air for ten minutes and then as the air bag became cold the balloon went down.
The news about the experiment reached the king who wanted to see it himself. So on September 19, 1783 Montgolfier brothers repeated their experiment in the presence of the King and Queen of France. This time the balloon carried a cage with a sheep, a cock and a duck who were thus the first air travellers. The flight was successful. The balloon came down some distance off with the sheep, the cock and the duck unharmed.
If the animals could live through this men could risk too. A month later a balloon was sent up with a Frenchman, Rozier by name. He stayed up in the air for twenty-five minutes at a height of about one hundred feet above the ground, and then came down saying that he had greatly enjoyed the view of the country.
A month later he and Arlandes made the first free balloon flight. Their friends who came to say good-bye to them were very sad as if the two men were going to certain death, but they went up several hundred feet, were carried by the wind over Paris and came down in safety.
In 1785 a Frenchman and an American crossed the English Channel in a balloon. When they had covered three quarters of the way the balloon began to go down. They threw everything they could overboard. If they had not done it, they would have never reached the French coast.
Comprehension Check
Quiz Time
Check you knowledge on the history of the balloons. Do the following quiz and mark the statements as true (T) or false (F).
| The earliest form of air transport was dirigible. | T | F | The first balloon was in the air for 15 minutes. | T | F | ||
| “Free balloons” are moving without any engine. | T | F | The first air travellers were domestic animals. | T | F | ||
| Balloons are reliable vehicles. | T | F | The first man lifted by the balloon was a Frenchman, Rozier by name. | T | F | ||
| Balloons are used for carrying people. | T | F | Rozier and Arlandes safely landed after the flight. | T | F | ||
| Weather balloons are used by meteorologists. | T | F | In 1785 an American crossed the English Channel in a balloon. | T | F | ||
| The first balloons were made in Germany. | T | F | The air travellers had certain trouble during their flight across the English Channel. | T | F | ||
| Montgolfier’s father had a paper factory. | T | F | Balloons are widely used nowdays. | T | F |
Compare your answers with those of your partner’s.
Define the main idea of the first paragraph. Find the supporting details that help to develop the main idea.
Explain the meaning of the following words and word combinations from the text. Make use of a dictionary if necessary.
Particularly, the readings of the instruments, village, smoke, numerous experiments, to hold , in the presence of, sheep, cock, unharmed, at a height of, to come down in safety.
Choose the one word that best keeps the content of the text.
1) The earliest form of air transport was
| a) dirigible b) helicopter c) glider d) balloon |
2) The scientists use balloons mostly for
| a) experiments b) transportation of the instruments c) making calculations d) obtaining information about atmosphere |
3) The position of the balloon is obtained by
| a) satellite b) radio c) sensor d) radar |
4) Montgolfier’s big bag was held over
| a) gas b) gasoline c) smoke d) fire |
5) The first air travelers were
| a) people b) domestic animals c) objects d) beasts |
Complete the following sentences using the content of the text.
1) “Free balloons” are forced to drift by …
2) This fact alone makes the balloons not …
3) If they were safer they would …
4) They carry instruments whose readings are …
5) Etienne and Joseph Montgolfier lived in …
6) After numerous experiments they were ready to …
7) The brothers had constructed a bag …
8) The news about the experiment reached …
9) The next time the balloon carried a cage with …
10) If the animals could live through this …
11) He stayed up in the air for twenty-five minutes …
12) A month later he and Arlandes made …
Focus on Writing
1. Read the following encyclopedia articles about the balloons. There are several names of the scientists and writers closely connected with flying on the balloon. Write one short story on the people exploring the balloon. Use the materials of all threearticles.
Balloon
Large airtight bag filled with hot air or a lighter-than-air gas such as helium or hydrogen that can rise and float in the atmosphere.
Experimental attempts may have begun by 1709, but not until 1783 did J.-M. and J.-E. Montgolfier developed a fabric-bag balloon that would rise when filled with hot air. Balloons provided military aerial observation sites in the 19th century and were used in the 20th century by scientists such as Auguste Piccard to gather high-altitude data. The first round-the-world balloon flight was achieved in 1999 by Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones.
Gay-Lussac, Joseph
born Dec. 6, 1778,
Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat, France
died May 9, 1850, Paris
French chemist and physicist.
He showed that all gases expand by the same fraction of their volume for a given temperature increase; this led to devising of a new temperature scale whose profound thermodynamic significance was later established by Lord Kelvin. Taking measurements from a balloon flying more than 20,000 ft (6,000m) high, he concluded that Earth’s magnetic intensity and atmospheric composition were constant to that altitude. With Alexander von Humboldt, he remembered as a pioneer investigator of the behaviour of gases and techniques of chemical analysis and a founder of meteorology.
Verne, Jules
born Feb. 8, 1828, Nantes, France
died March 24, 1905, Amiens
French writer.
He studied law then worked as a stockbrocker while writing plays and stories. The first of his romantic adventures, Five Weeks in a Balloon (1863), was highly successful. His subsequent voyages – with increasingly fantastic yet carefully conceived scientific wonders that often anticipated 20-th century technological achievements – include A Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864). Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873). Verne’s work shaped the entire development of science fiction.