It may be generally known, that for some time extraordinary efforts
have been making to discover a method by which locomotion through the
air may be rendered as certain and practicable as locomotion by sea or
land. In this desperate enterprise, of bringing the principle of
aërostation into regular use, certain individuals in Paris have taken
the lead. Our belief, like that of others, is, that plans of this kind
will fail, as they have hitherto done; at the same time, we think it
would be improper to dogmatise on the subject, and will only say, that
if travelling by balloon becomes one of the established things of the
day, so much the better.
With these feelings, we have thought it consistent with our duty as
journalists, not to refuse publicity to an account of what was till
lately doing in Paris to forward practical aërostation--we say,
lately; for we are told by our correspondent, that the operations
towards perfecting the invention have been stopped by orders of the
French government, from an opinion that, if air-travelling were
introduced, it would be injurious to the custom-house, and
denationalise the country. This resolution of the French government is
to be regretted, not less on the score of science, than from the ruin
it has inflicted on the modest means of the ingenious operator. With
these preliminary explanations, we offer the following paper, just as
handed to us by a respectable party conversant with the details to
which he refers.
'The chief difficulty in aëro-locomotion, is that of steering; because
the atmosphere seems to present no substantial fulcrum which can be
pushed against. But that this difficulty is not altogether
insurmountable, is evident from the single fact, that birds really do
steer their way through the air. This fact suggests, that a fulcrum is
not necessarily a palpable substance: it may be pliant or movable. For
instance, if we fasten the string of a kite to a ball, this ball,
which represents the fulcrum, being set in motion by the kite, becomes
a movable fulcrum: a child also, holding the string in his hand, runs
from right to left without impeding the motion of the kite, of which
motion he is the movable fulcrum. Absolute stability, therefore, is
not a necessary condition of a fulcrum; it is sufficient that there
be, between the resistant force and the motive force, a difference of
intensity in favour of the former. Thus, in water, the fulcrum, being
liquid, is necessarily pliant and movable; yet it is quite possible,
as every child knows, to obtain in this element purchase sufficient to
steer the largest ships.
'In the air, which is a gas, the fulcrum being gaseous, must also be
movable; but although the air, being the most elastic body with which
we are acquainted, is therefore the least apt to furnish a fulcrum,
yet, as compressed air is capable of bursting the strongest metallic
receptacles, splitting the solid rock, and rending the bosom of the
earth, it would seem that we have only to act upon the air through
pressure, in order to obtain the requisite purchase from which to
steer.
'Foremost among those who are thus endeavouring to render the balloon
manageable, is M. Pétin of Paris, who has devoted fifteen years to the
study of this subject, the last three years to lecturing upon it in
the principal towns of France, and who has unfortunately expended the
whole of his resources in constructing an air-ship intended to
demonstrate, on a small scale, the possibility of steering according
to the system which he has elucidated. We say on a small scale; for
though the dimensions of the curious construction in question,
intended to carry two hundred passengers, will appear large to those
of our readers whose ideas of ballooning have never gone beyond the
ordinary ascensions so much in vogue at the present day, they are yet
of almost microscopic minuteness when compared with the developments
of which M. Pétin and his friends conceive his plans to be
susceptible!
'The body of this novel vessel consists of two covered decks, or
galleries, connected by a series of narrow bridges, thrown across the
open space between them, on a level with their floor; thus forming the
body of the vessel, which looks not unlike a couple of Noah's Arks,
placed parallel to each other, and connected by means of the aforesaid
bridges. Suspended across the upper part of this open space, is a row
of sixteen movable wings, placed one behind the other, and attached,
by means of pivots, to the upper edge of the inner walls of the
galleries; these wings are of oiled sail-cloth, set into oblong iron
frames, and are worked by machinery. They may be opened or closed,
inclined to or from each other, at any angle, upwards or downwards. At
each end of the vessel, near the stem and the stern, is a pair of
screws, similar to the propellers of a steam-ship, and worked by a
couple of small steam-engines of three horse-power each, one being
placed just above and behind each pair of screws. Lastly, attached to
masts projecting horizontally from each end of the ship, are a couple
of triangular or lateen sails; smaller sails are also attached to the
under part of the balloons, which, enclosed in net-work of strong
cord, are fastened to the roof of the galleries, directly over the
wings, beneath which, again, are the bridges from which the crew are
to work the ship.
'These skeleton galleries, which, with the exception of the floors,
and the walls and roof of their central portion, are constructed of
lattice-work, faced with thin bands of iron, in order to render the
whole as light as possible, are 162 feet in length, 8 feet in height
by 4 feet in width in their central portion, but taper off to 18
inches in height and width at their extremities. This mode of building
gives an oval form to the framework of the vessel. The central portion
of the galleries, which is at the same time the highest and the
widest, embraces a length of 66 feet, and is appropriated to the
passengers. The boilers are placed here also, one in each gallery; the
steam being conveyed to the engines by pipes.
'The total length of the ship, including that of the two projecting
masts, is 198 feet; and its total weight, including that of the
machinery, and a crew of eight men, is 14,000 pounds. The balloons are
66 feet in diameter, and will contain 15,000 cubic yards of gas. Their
ascensional force is 20,000 pounds. The wings are 6 feet in length by
15 in width. The screws are made of pitched canvas, rimmed with iron;
they are 6 feet in length.
'The eight central wings, disposed in the form of an upright
roof--_parachute_--or of an inverted roof--_paramont_--are intended,
by pressing on the air above in ascending, and on the air below in
descending, to furnish the necessary point of resistance, or fulcrum,
from which to steer. The other eight wings, four at each end of the
central group, are intended, by being opened or shut, to act as a
counterpoise; thus producing a rupture of equilibrium around the
central fulcrum, and thereby changing the upward movement of the
balloons into an oblique forward movement. In other words, the ship
being raised into the air--to the stratum immediately above the region
of storms--and maintained there by the ascensional force of the
balloons, and being forced onward by the screws, the four anterior
wings are to be opened, the four posterior ones remaining closed. The
forepart of the ship being now relieved from the downward pressure of
the air, caused by the upward movement of the balloons, this pressure
still acting on the posterior wings, its equilibrium is destroyed; the
forepart rises, the hindpart dips, thus changing the direction of the
ship's course, by converting its vertical into an oblique movement,
which is to carry it onward upon a plane inclined slightly upward.
'This operation is to be followed by its converse. The four posterior
wings are to be opened, and the four anterior ones closed; the vessel
now dips in the opposite direction, and moves forward on a plane
inclined slightly downward; and so on. Thus, by alternately opening
and shutting the two sets of lateral wings, M. Pétin proposes to make
his ship sail forward on a series of inclined planes, upwards and
downwards. He takes care to assure us, however, that the requisite
degree of inclination will be so slight as to be imperceptible to his
passengers; and instances, in corroboration of this opinion, the beds
of rivers, where a very slight degree of inclination suffices to
produce a rapid current.
'In order to determine perpendicular movement, the central
wings--which, according to M. Pétin, when placed in an oblique
position, will constitute the fulcrum--are to be brought into an
upright position, thus offering no resistance to the air; the two
pairs of screws are then made to turn in opposite directions with
great velocity, forcing powerful convergent currents of air upon the
two sets of lateral wings, maintained in oblique and opposite
positions. The force of these currents, being decomposed by the
resistance of the wings, is thus changed into a perpendicular
pressure, acting upwards or downwards according to the position of the
wings; by means of which the aëronaut hopes to be enabled to ascend or
descend without losing either gas or ballast.
'This decomposition of the force of the currents produced by the
screws, is analogous to that effected by the sails of a ship sailing
across the wind; where, the sails being inclined at an angle of 45
degrees to the course of the wind, the ship is impelled onwards in a
direction at right angles to that of the wind: the only difference in
the two cases being this--namely, that in the sails of the ship, the
axis of inclination, represented by the mast, is _vertical_, creating
_horizontal_ movement; while, in the wings of the air-ship, the axis
of inclination--the pivot on which they turn--is _horizontal_,
creating _vertical_ movement. Were there but one pair of screws,
acting upon one set of inclined wings, a slight retrograde horizontal
movement would be produced in addition to the vertical movement, as
the current of blast from the screw would react upon the screw itself
with a force greater than that with which it would impinge upon the
wings, where a part of the blast will inevitably be wasted. But there
being two pairs of screws, acting in opposite directions, they will
neutralise each other's horizontal movement, while combining in the
production of vertical movement. So, at least, reasons our inventor;
but however ingenious this expedient, its efficiency may well be
doubted, when we remember the immense amount of resistance, offered by
the surface of the balloons, which would have to be overcome.
'To obtain lateral movement, the action of one pair of screws is
suspended, leaving the other pair in motion: the ship, according to
the calculation of M. Pétin, will immediately describe a curve, and
turn.
'Such is the air-ship constructed by M. Pétin; but, unhappily for the
demonstration of his views, the French government, either from fear of
accident, or from some other motive, has interdicted its ascension;
and the vessel which, three months ago, was ready--crew, captain, and
machinery--to attempt its advertised flight round the walls of Paris,
is still reposing, in inglorious idleness, upon its stocks in the
Chantier Marbeuf (Champs Elysées), to the woful disappointment of its
enthusiastic inventor, who, however, consoles himself with the hope of
coming over to London for the purpose of testing his invention, as
soon as the return of fine weather shall render it prudent to make the
trial journey. In justice to M. Pétin, we would observe, that the sole
point which he hopes to prove with this vessel is, _the possibility of
obtaining a fulcrum in the air_, justly considering that if the
question of _steering_ were affirmatively settled, the necessary
means, pecuniary and other, would soon be forthcoming to enable him to
improve upon, or to change the original construction, and to build the
mammoth vessels, containing closed apartments, warmed and fitted up
with every provision for comfort, in which he hopes to transport
several thousands of passengers at a time, and at a speed which it
almost takes away one's breath to think of.
'For, urges M. Pétin, if we could once succeed in getting a fulcrum in
the air in spite of its elasticity, this very elasticity would then
enable us, with suitable motive-power, to move with a degree of
rapidity far transcending the possibilities of locomotion in any other
element. In fact, it would seem, according to M. Pétin's computations,
that we might breakfast in London, lunch in Constantinople, dine in
China, dance the evening out in Havannah, and get home to bed at an
hour not much later than that at which the votaries of fashion usually
betake themselves to their slumbers.
'The reasoning by which our inventor arrives at the seemingly
paradoxical conclusion, that the air is destined to be the high-road
_par excellence_, and to serve as the medium of transportation for the
heaviest loads, is certainly very ingenious; of its conclusiveness, we
must leave our readers to judge for themselves.
'Progression from the simple to the composite, says M. Pétin, is the
universal law. In the works of nature, the action of this law is
everywhere visible; and man, in his works, follows the path thus
consecrated by the footsteps of the Creator. Thus we find, he
continues, that the point multiplied by itself produces the line; the
line, in like manner, produces the plane; and the plane, the cube; an
ascending series, which he conceives to have its exact analogy in that
furnished by the earth, the water, and the air, considered as _media_
of locomotion. In other words, the point, or primary germ of
extension, corresponds, according to the theory of M. Pétin, with the
fulcrum, or primary condition of locomotion; the line, first and
simplest form of extension, corresponds with locomotion on the surface
of the earth, where, owing to topographic inequalities, and other
obstacles, locomotion can take place only in its first and simplest
mode--namely, in a linear direction; the plane, produced by the
movement of the line, and constituting a higher term of superficial
development, corresponds with locomotion upon the water, whose
unencumbered surface, which can be traversed in every direction,
presents a locomotive medium, the facilities of which, compared with
those offered by the surface of the earth, increase in the ratio of
the difference of extension between the line and the plane.
'The cube, product of the plane multiplied by itself, corresponds with
locomotion in the air, where the aëronaut, being surrounded on every
side by fulcra furnished by the various strata of the atmosphere,
moves at will in every direction; pressing on the higher strata in
ascending, on the lower in descending, on the lateral in turning to
the right or to the left, and thus commanding a sphere of locomotion
whose extent and facilities, compared with those afforded by the
water, are as the cube to the plane.
'Aërial navigation being thus, according to his theory, the highest
form of locomotion, M. Pétin considers himself as justified in
assuming, _a priori_, that this mode of transportation will offer
facilities superior to those of every other in point of safety, speed,
power, and cheapness; but on condition of its being carried into
effect upon a scale commensurate with the vastness of its field and
the importance of its results.
'To convince ourselves that such is really the intention of
Providence, and that balloons are destined to transport the heaviest
loads, we have only, continues M. Pétin, to examine the law which
presides over the development of spheric bodies; the surface of a
sphere being represented by the square of the radius, while its
_contenance_, or containing power, is represented by the cube of the
radius. In other words, if we increase the diameter of a sphere three
times, although we increase its surface only nine times, we increase
its containing power twenty-seven times. Therefore, by constructing
balloons on a very large scale, as the extent of surface, and
consequent resistance of the air, increases in an immensely smaller
proportion than the containing power, we may obtain an almost fabulous
amount of ascensional force. For instance: a balloon of one hundred
yards in diameter would suffice to raise only ten millions of pounds;
but ten such balloons ranged one behind the other, or, better still, a
cigar-shaped balloon, which would be equivalent to these ten balloons
united in one (an arrangement which, as the law of development is
similar for spheric and for cylindric bodies, would greatly diminish
the resistance of the air, without occasioning any loss of containing
power), would suffice to raise one hundred millions of pounds; and
allowing some four or five millions of pounds for the weight of the
vessel and its machinery, which, for a ship of this size--supposing it
were possible to make its various parts hold together--should be, M.
Pétin computes, of twelve hundred horse-power, we should still have at
command a surplus ascensional force of upwards of ninety millions of
pounds; a force sufficient to sustain a body of fifty thousand men!
'In the construction of these enormous balloons, M. Pétin proposes to
substitute, in place of the silken bag hitherto used to contain the
gas, a rigid envelope of a cylindro-conical form, composed of a series
of metallic tubes, laid one above the other, and supplied with
gas--obtainable to any amount and almost instantaneously--from the
decomposition of water by a powerful electric battery; and with these
resources at command, M. Pétin conceives that balloons might be
constructed on a scale even larger than that just given!
'In fact, this assumption of the possibility of obtaining command of
an unlimited ascensional force has suggested, to certain enthusiastic
partisans of M. Pétin's theory and plans, a long perspective of
astounding visions, from which sober-minded Englishmen would, in all
probability, turn away with derision. These enthusiasts have evidently
adopted the language of Archimedes, and are ready to exclaim: "Give us
a _fulcrum_, and," with hydrogen gas as our lever, "we will move the
world!"
'For ourselves, we have already stated the facts from which we derive
our conviction that the conquest of the air, if achieved, is to be
brought about through the agency of new and powerful mechanical
combinations, rather than by means of the balloon; and though, as
before remarked, the experiments of M. Pétin and others may probably
not be without useful results, we dismiss these brilliant
phantasmagoria with the charitable reflection, that the extravagance
of overweening hopefulness is, at least in an age which has witnessed
the advent of steam and electricity, more natural and more pardonable
than the scepticism of confirmed despondency; and that "he who shoots
at the stars," though missing his aim, will at all events shoot higher
than he who aims at the mud beneath his feet.
'Meantime, the science of meteorology--a subject intimately connected
with that of aëro-locomotion--though yet in its infancy, already
furnishes many indications of great importance, as establishing a very
strong presumption in favour of the existence of permanent atmospheric
currents, blowing continuously in various directions at different
degrees of elevation.
'We know that air, when rarefied by heat, becomes lighter and rises,
cold air immediately rushing in to supply its place; and it is
evident, therefore, that if two neighbouring regions of the atmosphere
are unequally heated, this inequality of temperature will give rise to
two currents of air--a warm one, in the upper region of the
atmosphere, blowing from the warmer to the colder region; and a cold
one, near the surface of the earth, blowing from the colder to the
warmer region. It can, therefore, hardly be matter of doubt, that
great permanent currents, caused by the unequal heating of the
equatorial and polar regions, do exist in the higher strata of the
atmosphere--an inference which is supported not only by the occurrence
of the trade-winds and the monsoon, but by a variety of other facts
and observations.
'Thus, for instance, it is found that in the region of the
trade-winds, cinders from the craters of volcanoes, and other objects,
are carried through the higher regions of the air in a direction
exactly opposite to that in which the trade-wind itself is blowing
below; and in this way cinders from the Cosiguina, in Guatemala,
frequently fall in the streets of Kingston (Jamaica), lying to the
north-east of Guatemala. Similar facts have been observed at the Peak
of Teneriffe, in the Straits of Magellan, and elsewhere.
'The importance of this subject with regard to aëro-locomotion can
hardly be overrated; for these currents, when clearly ascertained and
correctly mapped out, would constitute so many great natural routes,
where the aëronaut would be borne onward in the required direction
with immense velocity, and without danger of encountering squalls or
counter-currents.
'But here, fearful of exhausting the patience of our readers, we bring
our somewhat lengthened disquisitions to a close, and take our leave
for the present of the tempting, though debatable ground of the CUBIC
HIGHWAY.'