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The kite experiment is a scientific experiment in which a kite with a pointed conductive wire attached to its apex is flown near thunder clouds to collect static electricity from the air and conduct it down the wet kite string to the ground. The experiment was first proposed in 1752 by Benjamin Franklin, who reportedly conducted the experiment ...
A kite is a tethered heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create lift and drag forces. [ 2 ] A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have a bridle and tail to guide the face of the kite so the wind can lift it. [ 3 ]
William Abner Eddy, circa 1890. William Abner Eddy (January 28, 1850 – December 26, 1909) was an American accountant and journalist famous for his photographic and meteorological experiments with kites. The scientific significance of Eddy's improvements to kite-flying was short-lived, due to the advent of Lawrence Hargrave 's rectangular box ...
In the 1820s British inventor George Pocock developed man-lifting kites, using his own children in his experimentation. [8]In the early 1890s, Captain B. F. S. Baden-Powell, soon to become president of the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain, developed his "Levitor" kite, a hexagonal-shaped kite intended to be used by the army in order to lift a man for aerial observation or for lifting ...
1610 – Galileo Galilei: discovered the Galilean moons of Jupiter. 1613 – Galileo Galilei: Inertia. 1621 – Willebrord Snellius: Snell's law. 1632 – Galileo Galilei: The Galilean principle (the laws of motion are the same in all inertial frames) 1660 – Blaise Pascal: Pascal's law. 1660 – Robert Hooke: Hooke's law.
For a chronological guide, see Timeline of electromagnetic theory. The history of electromagnetic theory begins with ancient measures to understand atmospheric electricity, in particular lightning. [ 1 ] People then had little understanding of electricity, and were unable to explain the phenomena. [ 2 ]
Discoveries of physics find applications throughout the natural sciences and in technology. Historically, physics emerged from the scientific revolution of the 17th century, grew rapidly in the 19th century, then was transformed by a series of discoveries in the 20th century.
The history of aviation spans over two millennia, from the earliest innovations like kites and daring attempts at tower jumping to supersonic and hypersonic flight in powered, heavier-than-air jet aircraft. Kite flying in China, dating back several hundred years BC, is considered the earliest example of man-made flight.