A History of Everything

History Of The Hot Air Balloon And Dirigible Airship

2012-01-27T06:28:00.001-08:00

History Of The Hot Air Balloon And Dirigible Airship

Lighter than air craft such as balloons and airships are colorful and delightful vessels. Who among us hasn’t looked upon a flying balloon or blimp with delight and wonder as the craft soared overhead with the wind at it’s back. Simple in principal, balloon flight wasn’t successfully attained until the eighteenth century.

A Brazilian priest and inventor named Bartolomeu Lourenço de Gusmão was one of the earliest pioneers of balloon aviation history. He conducted experiments in 1709 with hot air balloons.

The first aircraft passengers in the world were animals. French brothers Joseph and Étienne Montgolfier sent an unmanned hot air balloon aloft on June 4, 1783, and followed this experiment on September 19 by launching a balloon with a sheep, rooster, and a duck on board. This flight covered 1.5 miles. Try to get on your average airliner today with a sheep, rooster, and a duck and see what the flight attendant does.

François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent made the first manned balloon flight in history on November 21, 1783. A couple of tethered flights had taken place earlier and this flight was un-tethered. It covered 5.5 miles and took 23 minutes. The balloonists burned straw and wool to replenish the hot air in the balloon, which was made of linen. In December of the same year J.-A.-C.Charles, and Nicolas-Louis Robert made the first flight in in history in a helium balloon.

Military applications for the balloon were perceived by Napoleon Bonaparte. He used tethered balloons for observation posts in some of his battles. They were also used for this purpose by both sides in the American Civil War in the United States. There was limited use for this purpose as late as W.W.I.

Airships made their debut in 1852 when Frenchman Henry Giffard flew his cigar shaped craft over Paris. The ship could fly up to six miles per hour and was powered by a steam engine turning a prop.

Dirigibles saw some use in commercial passenger transport, but their susceptibility to bad weather and their extreme slowness limited use. The steam engine in use at the time of the airships birth were too heavy to be of real sound use. By the time engines were developed which were practical for them, these same engines saw service in the airplanes which made dirigibles obsolete.

Their military use was limited because of their vulnerability to airplane attack, but the Germans did use them to bomb Paris and London during the First World War. The Allies used dirigibles mainly for submarine patrol.

German Count Ferdinand von Zeppilin developed an airship which served as a prototype for airship design for many years. They were used for commercial passenger service from about 1910 until 1937. Both overland and trans-oceanic flights were made. The susceptibility of airships to storms and the development of better aircraft doomed the airship to extinction. The German Hindenburg was the biggest and last of the great airships. It was filled with hydrogen gas, and crashed and burned near Lakehurst, New Jersey on May 6, 1937 after making 10 trans-Atlantic runs.

Balloons, dirigibles and airships are all part of the long story of the history of transportation in human existance. They all made their contributions to the science of aviation and the furtherance of knowledge.

A Short History Of Kites and Aviation

2012-01-26T06:13:00.001-08:00

A Short History Of Kites and Aviation

Kites have been very instrumental in the history of aviation. Most of the early aviators used kites to develop their theories before actually taking flight. The first humans to gain the distinction of flying among the birds did so with the aid of kites.

During the kite’s very early history in China, and later Japan, man carrying kites were built. There are many stories in the lore of both these countries of kites bearing men aloft. These kites were used primarily for military purposes as observational tools. Marco Polo (1254 - 1324), after his wanderings in China, documented the many uses for kites there.

The first scientist to use kites to study aviation was a Franciscan friar named Roger Bacon (1214?-1294). History remembers Roger Bacon for his scientific studies in many different fields including mathematics, optics, and astronomy. Bacon was the Western World's first true scientist, preceeding the emergence of widespread scientific study in Europe by about 500 years. During his experiments with kites, he came to the conclusion that if a craft were properly constructed, it could be supported by air in the same fashion that water supports a boat.

It wasn't until Sir George Cayley (1773-1857), almost 500 years later, that serious work was again done with kites in the field of aviation. Cayley, because of his work, is often called the "Father of Aviation." A native of Scarbourgh, England, this English baronet was an inventor who created the basic design of the airplanes flown today. Many of Cayley's designs for aircraft were developed during the ten year period from 1799 through 1809. He designed and built an aircraft which flew like a kite which had a movable tail and could be maneuvered.

Otto Lilienthal, a German engineer, dominated aviation history in the late 1800's. He is known mostly for his work with gliders, but his early experiments in the 1870's were primarily with kites. The lessons he learned from the kites he built and flew led directly to the many gliders he designed and flew. Over 2000 times he took to the air in flight. One fatal day his glider stalled at an altitude of around fifty feet. The glider crashed and he severed his spine. He died the next day.

Orville and Wilbur Wright represent the culmination of this long, historic process. They studied Lilienthal's designs and decided to base their initial designs on his. Using a biplane box kite they designed in 1899, they tested their theories on aircraft control. The kite framework of this kite was hinged, allowing it to twist. It was controlled from the ground, using four lines, one tied to each corner of the frame. They learned to control the kite using this system, and could make it bank, dive and climb.

The following year they constructed a glider, using the kite as a guide. This glider had enough lifting capacity to lift a man, but they decided fly it like a kite at first, using the same ground control system they had devised for the kite. Their experiments with this craft led to the design, construction, and eventual success with the flight of the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk in 1903.

Kites have had an instrumental role in the rise of the science of aviation. From the Chinese in the fifth century BC to the Wright Brothers in 1903, the kite has made its mark in the history of flight.

A Short History of the Beginnings of Flight 2

2012-01-25T06:39:00.001-08:00

A Short History of the Beginnings of Flight 2

Seventeenth In The Transportation Series

In the Nineteenth Century the embryonic science of aviation was a hotbed of activity. Much of the new engine technology which had been developed was applied to try to achieve flight. Compressed air, rubber bands,muscle power, and steam all were tested in aircraft propulsion. All these systems worked, but none were suitable to power a manned craft in sustained, controllable flight.

About four hundred years after Leonardo Da Vinci designed his ornithopter, a gentleman named George Cayley developed some theories of his own about flight. He lived in the period immediately preceding the era when flight was achieved (1773 - 1857). He proved his theories with kites and gliders, earnig the title of ‘the father of aviation’. He designed the helicopter, and most later achievements in flight were based on his work.

Various motions were also tried including flapping wings, paddles, and flappers. None of these motion devices worked with any degree of success.
A few inventive men were willing to try new things. John Stringfellow, in 1848, launched a steam powered machine from a wire. It didn’t fly, but did demonstrate lift and proved that with the proper design and materials a flying craft could be built.

An astronomer named Samuel Pierpont Langley was a bit more successful. Most of his experiments were conducted in and around the year 1896. His steam powered models had a wing span of about 15 feet and flew successfully. These were unmanned models which descended gracefully when the steam engine’s fuel was exhausted.

Also contributing greatly to the final effort were the flights of Otto Lilienthal in Germany. He flew gliders for several years, but was killed in a crash.

By the beginning of the twentieth century most of the groundwork had been laid for the achievement of powered, controllable flight. The design work for the first craft was largely worked out and the materials tested. Many propulsion systems had been tried, to no avail. Steam engines were too heavy, and the fuel too inconvenient. Gliders were valauble tools for testing theories, but were too inconsistent, relying on winds which might fail. The improving technology of the gas engine provided the final impetus to the goal. The engine was light and powerful and the fuel was portable.

The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur finally worked out the remaining problems on the sands of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903. Their achievement was another turning point in human history. Transportation became faster and easier. People could travel long distances over land and water in a single craft. The airplane freed people from land based transportation.
Many pioneers in aviation came after the Wrights. Charles Lindburg and Amelia Earhart are the best known heros in a long list of people who left their mark on the history of our world.

A Short History of the Beginnings of Flight

2012-01-24T05:31:00.001-08:00

A Short History of the Beginnings of Flight

Sixteenth In The Transportation Series

Lighter than air craft first gave humans the ability to fly. Balloons and airships were the first chapters in a story which have seen mankind reach for the stars. These craft were magical in their ability to float through the air, but they had many drawbacks. Balloons only went where the wind blew them, and were limited to good weather. Dirigibles were controllable, but were saddled with inappropriate engines in their beginning stages and also were vulnerable to storms. They were also very slow.

The dream of controllable, powered flight was an ancient aspiration which had occupied some of the philosophers thoughts early in our history. Many believed that flight could be achieved by imitating the wing movements of birds, but human body is too weak and heavy to achieve flight this way. Recent years muscle powered flight has been achieved using a bicycle-like apparatus. Only athletes in top condition can fly these machines.

The first aircraft built were kites, which apparently made their appearance sometime in the fifth century. They were flown chiefly for amusement, but were also used by early scientists studying the possibilities of flight. An English monk, and scientist, Roger Bacon was the first person we know of who seriously studied the concept of flight. He lived from 1214 - 1294, and was one of the western world’s first real scientists. His studies convinced him that if a craft were properly constructed, air would support it in the same manner in which water supports a boat.

We had to wait three hundred years before the next notable advancements came in the theory of flight. Leonardo Da Vinci never flew, but he thought about it a lot. He designed three different types of flying machine - the helicopter, glider, and ornithopter. The ornithopter was designed with wings which were supposed to flap like a bird’s. These craft were never built, and wouldn’t have flown anyway, as they were designed to use the human body as a power source. Da Vinci lived about four hundred years before the steam or internal combustion engine was developed and muscle power was the only power source he knew.

As we’ve seen earlier in this series, advances in engine technology proved revolutionary in land and sea transportation. The invention of the internal combustion engine in the nineteenth century virtually created the aircraft revolution. The light, powerful engines were ideal for aircraft. Although steam engines were used by some early aviators, they were too heavy and cumbersome for airplanes.

A Short History of Balloon Flight

2012-01-23T06:19:00.001-08:00

A Short History of Balloon Flight

Fourteenth In The Transportation Series

The ability to fly like a bird is an ancient aspiration for mankind. There are many legendary accounts of men flying, the most famous of which is the Greek legend of Daedalus and Icarus, his son. Daedalus was a famous architect and sculptor, working for King Minos of Crete. He displeased the king, and the king imprisoned Daedalus and his son. They wanted freedom, so Daedalus fashioned wings out of wax and feathers. These he put on himself and Icarus so they could fly to freedom. He cautioned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun, but once they were in the air Icarus became enraptured by the flight and flew higher and higher until the sun was close. Too close, because the wax began to melt and the feathers fell out of the wings. Icarus fell to his death in the sea, becoming the first aircraft casualty!

Historical records indicate no one else even came this close to flying until the eighteenth century. Balloons were the first aircraft to take men into the air. Balloons are ‘lighter than air’ craft, so called because the bag of the balloon contains hot air, helium, or hydrogen. These substances are lighter than air, and when held captive in the balloon they cause the balloon to rise off the ground. Lighter than air craft include balloons, blimps, and dirigibles.

Balloons are fabric filled bags which have a basket or similar passenger or cargo vessel suspended below them. They have no capacity for directional control, merely drifting with the wind. Dirigibles have a fabric covered frame which gives the craft its shape. A gondola is mounted on the bottom of the frame which houses passengers and a motor and prop. The dirigible has directional control, and more altitude control than a balloon. A blimp has no framework to give the airbag it’s shape. The shape is maintained by the pressure of the gas inside. Directional control and passenger gondola the same as for a dirigible.

Hydrogen and hot air were the principal lifting gases for the early balloons. Helium wasn’t available in large quantities until the 1900’s, but saw limited use by early balloonists. Hydrogen is more buoyant than helium, but is more volatile than helium, so it isn’t used much, anymore. Early hot air balloonists burned wool and straw to keep the balloons aloft. Modern balloonists use propane gas burners to stay aloft. Hydrogen was commonly used, but was it dangerous because of its flammability. It is no longer much used because of it’s extreme volatility.

Flying a balloon is simple, in theory. To gain altitude you jettison ballast, usually sand bags. To lose altitude, you vent gas, or turn down the propane burners. Vagaries in wind currents, air density, presence of thermals, and man made or natural barriers such as trees and power lines complicate balloon aviation.

The next installment of this series will cover the history and development of the balloon and airship.

A Short History of the Gas Automobile

2012-01-20T06:24:00.001-08:00

A Short History of the Gas Automobile

Thirteenth In The Transportation Series

Very few complex inventions can be accredited to any one individual, owing to the need for many processes and items to be developed independently. These independent pieces can finally be assembled by a person or group of persons. Other inventors and tinkerers may still be needed to work out the remaining problems. The gas-powered automobile is one of these inventions. First the problems surrounding the engine itself had to be solved. Then a suitable fuel had to be discovered. Other countless engineering problems had to be surmounted before a working ‘horseless carriage’ could be built. Eventually, the problems were solved, and the automobile has become the single most important transportation medium in modern times. It was, and is, the ideal personal transportation method.

Early automobiles were steam powered. Steam powered cars were better than walking, but were not convenient to operate. Their shortcomings limited their use.
In 1885 a German engineer named Karl Benz staged the first demonstration of the gas powered automobile. It sported a two cycle engine and three wheels, sort of like a motorized tri-cycle. His first customer was a Frenchman - Emile Rogers. By 1888 Benz had fifty employees building cars. In 1890 Benz introduced a four wheeled version of his horseless carriage. Other inventors made refinements to the automobile, and its popularity spread.

Before the automobile could be built for the masses, some fundamental changes in the way cars were built were necessary. Again, it was a lot of individuals who contributed to these changes. Specialization of labor, standardization of parts, and machinery which could cut, drill, shape, and otherwise make parts all had to be developed. Adam Smith, the economist of Colonial America who wrote The Wealth Of Nations in 1776 was one of the first proponents of mass production techniques. Eli Whitney proposed the techniques for the manufacture of flintlock guns in 1797. Other manufacturing pioneers developed the idea, using emerging steam power, tool making, and manufacturing technology to advance the budding Industrial Revolution.

The first cars were largely handmade, making them very expensive to build and buy. Consequently, the horseless carriage of this age was mainly a plaything of the rich. A gentleman by the name of Henry Ford changed all that. Henry Ford wanted to make cars the ‘average Joe’ could afford, so he made some elementary changes in the way automobiles were manufactured. The parts were standardized so mass production techniques could be used. The color of choice for all the cars was the same - black. These manufacturing techniques lowered the cost of the automobile to a price many more people could afford.

Production of Ford’s “Tin Lizzies” began in 1908 and continued through 1927. During this time over 15 million Model T’s were produced. Over half the cars in the world in 1920 were Model T’s.
The automobile has had a profound effect on the economic and social systems of our society. Literally millions of people are employed directly building, servicing, and selling them. Highway systems have been constructed to allow convenient travel by them. You no longer have to live close to your employmet, as the automobile can allow you to travel long distances in hours.

A Short History of the Internal Combustion Engine

2012-01-19T11:51:00.000-08:00

A Short History of the Internal Combustion Engine

The steam engine is classed as an external combustion engine because the fuel is burned away from the engine. The fuel heats water which turns to steam. The steam is supplied to a cylinder by a system of pipes where it drives the piston and supplies power. Although the engine worked well for locomotives and ships, the steam engine required a lot of labor to keep running. Heavy boilers were required to heat the water in, and the solid nature of the fuel made the engine somewhat cumbersome to operate and somewhat impractical for smaller vehicles. A smaller, more powerful engine was needed.

The internal combustion engine is more efficient than the steam engine because the fuel is actually burned in the engine. The fuel is ignited in the cylinder by the spark plug. The resulting explosion drives the piston down, which turns the crankshaft and supplies power. The need for a smaller, more powerful engine to replace steam power is what initially drove the research into the internal combustion engine.

The concept for the engine was partly inspired by the ability of gunpowder to eject a cannonball from a cannon. Indeed, gunpowder was the first fuel tried in an internal combustion engine - unsuccessfully.

A search for a suitable fuel remained futile until natural gas came into use in the cities in the middle of the 19th century. Natural gas was an ideal fuel, but it needed a pipeline to deliver it. Since it’s a little hard to build a pipeline to a moving locomotive, the engine was still impractical for use to power trains.

Another problem confronting the engine was the dilemma of maintaining the ignition of the engine. A French inventor named Lenoir partially solved this in 1859 , and built the first operating internal combustion engine in Paris, France.

The modern four stroke engine came into being in 1878 with the genius of German inventor Nikolaus Otto. His engine could be used by small industries to drive equipment. Because it was less expensive and labor intensive to operate, it began replacing steam engines in that application. As these engines were still dependent on natural gas, the engines were useful for stationary situations only because natural gas is not a ‘portable’ fuel.

As sometimes happens in revolutionary discoveries, the fuel problem for the internal combustion engine was solved in the search for another fuel. Kerosene was found to be a superior fuel for lighting homes in this pre-electric age, and the demand for it was increasing. This demand inspired Edwin Drake to drill the world’s first oil well in Pennsylvania in 1859, firing the first salvo in what was to become the world’s largest industry - the oil industry.

Gasoline at first was an unwanted byproduct of refining kerosene, until it was discovered that it was the ideal fuel for the new internal combustion engine. It was portable, making the engine free from the natural gas lines it had been tethered to. This made the engine suitable for many more purposes, such as the automobile.

If you wish to build a model of the internal combustion engine there are a number of choices available. A neat model for kids is manufactured by Natural Science Industries and is available at TrainTown. It is call the Motor Works Kit and is suitable for kids ages 8 and up. After easy assembly, the engine really works. It is powered by batteries and the spark plug fire, the valves open and close, and the fan and belt turn.

A model kit from Revell/Monogram replicates the V-8 engine in 1/6 scale. It’s called the Visible V-8, and after assembly the engine will operate with a crank at the rear of the engine. The cylinder walls are clear, so you can watch the pistons go up and down. A 1/5 scale Mazda rotary engine and a 1/3 scale Honda 750 four cylinder engine are available from Minicraft.

A Short History of Steamships

2012-01-18T12:33:00.001-08:00

A Short History of Steamships

The steamship has played an important role in the transportation history of the world. Inland and ocean transportation were changed greatly by the addition of the steam engine to the boat. Reliable shipping schedules were possible once ships were freed from the fickleness of the winds. The boat was the first vehicle in which steam was successfully utilized because boats could be enlarged to accommodate the early heavy steam engines.

French nobleman Claude-François-Dorothée, Marquis de Jouffroy d'Abbans was an early pioneer in steamboat operations. His first attempt, on the Doubs River in France, 1776 was unsuccessful. It used ‘ducks feet’ propulsion, which proved impractical. His second boat in 1783 utilized two paddlewheels for propulsion. The boat ran upstream for fifteen minutes. At 327,000 pounds the boat was seriously overloaded. This and the furious pounding of the motor tore the boat to pieces. Although both his attempts were failures, the concept of using steam engines on boats was proved to be feasible by his second run.

John Fitch in 1786 operated the first successful steamboat on the Delaware River. His boat achieved a top speed of 6 MPH. Difficulty in manufacturing the engine caused him to stop.
Robert Fulton accomplished the goal of the first practical steam boat in 1807. His boat, the North River Steamboat, cruised from his partner’s Clermont estate on the Hudson River to Albany, New York. This run of approximately forty miles was accomplished in about eight hours. His paddlewheel design became the standard boat design on inland and coastal waters all over the world in just a few years.

Fulton’s first riverboats were designed for the deeper eastern American waterways and didn’t fare so well in the shallower western rivers. He built a boat called the New Orleans to run down the Ohio River from Pittsburgh to New Orleans. The New Orleans departed Pittsburgh, Pennsylvannia in September, 1811. It traveled down the Ohio to Louisville, Kentuckey, where it had to wait for the river to rise before it could navigate the Falls of the Ohio region. When the water finally rose, the boat had to navigate in water only five inches deeper the boat drew. Coincidentally, the catastrophic New Madrid earthquake struck as the boat slipped into a pool of water just below the Falls. The shock waves of the quake threw water out of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, felled trees into the rivers, and just created a general mess. After many delays, the boat finally did reach New Orleans, but it never made the trip again. Rivers like the Ohio, Missouri, and Red Rivers needed boats with shallower drafts. These boats were eventually built, and river traffic at ports along these rivers blossomed.

Paddlewheelers designed to cross the ocean were developed a little later. The Savannah, a converted coastal packet became the first paddlewheeler to cross the Atlantic. It departed Savannah Georgia on May 24, 1819 and arrived in Liverpool, England on the twentieth of June, 1819. Other ships made the trans-Atlantic crossing at irregular times until the British Cunard Line began a regular schedule in 1840. It was 1847 before American ships - the Herman and Washington began service between America and Europe.

The ocean going ships of this era were wooden paddlewheelers also equipped with masts to use to take advantage of favorable winds when they occurred. Freshwater paddle-wheelers were limited to the larger rivers and lakes. Canals were narrower than rivers and travel was discouraged because the turbulence induced by the paddles caused bank erosion.

The more serviceable screw propeller was developed by American inventor John Stevens. Successful runs were made using a twin propped boat. Manufacturing problems involving the steam engine caused him to stop work. In 1836 Swede John Ericsson and Englishman Francis Pettit Smith were more successful.

One of the earliest ships to use the screw propeller was called the Great Britain. This ship was also noteworthy because it also had an iron hull. The ship was beached during a storm. After withstanding severe wind and seas for over a year, the ship was re-floated. The experience with the Great Britain dispelled the prejudice shipbuilders had against using iron for ship-building.
Early steam ships used cylinder motors for power, with coal as fuel. In the 1890’s the steam turbine was developed. Modern steamers use turbines powered by oil. Some warships and submarines use nuclear power plants to heat the water to turn the turbines.

A Short History of Steam Powered Automobiles

2012-01-17T12:36:00.000-08:00

A Short History of Steam Powered Automobiles

You may take that gleaming automobile in your driveway a little bit for granted. You just hop in, start it up, and the world is your oyster! But it wasn’t always this way. Once upon a time travel was a lot harder. Self-propelled automobiles were the dream of many people going back a lot further than you might imagine. In 1680 Sir Isaac Newton devised a car propelled by a jet of steam which was directed at the rear of the car. He thought of this just after the apple beaned him on the head. Other attempts like this were unsuccessful, or the results worked but were impractical and just considered toys.

It took almost 200 years before a successful steam powered automobile was built. Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, a French military engineer designed and built a three wheeled steam powered tractor which was to be used for hauling artillery pieces. A second one, built in 1870, is still on display at the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts in Paris, France. The engine used in the apparatus was his own design, based on Denis Papin’s theories about steam power. Although the thing worked, it was just too cumbersome with too many problems regarding pressure maintenance and water supply to be practical, and was abandoned. It proved the feasibility of the concept, but the design had to be worked out by someone else.

Richard Trevithick worked out the problems blocking the high pressure steam engine. This reduced the size and weight of the steam engine enough to allow the engine to be more portable than it had previously been. A forerunner of his steam locomotive, his steam powered carriage took him on a Christmas Eve ride up a hill near Camborne, Cornwall in 1801.

Steam powered busses provided transit service regularly in Paris, France by 1800. And from 1890 to 1800 Apollo Kinsley of Hartford, Connecticut and Nathan Read of Salem, Massachusetts were using steam vehicles in America. By the 1830’s the business of building steam road carriages was a growing business.

In England commercial routes for the steam carriages were established. In 1831 the nine mile Gloucester route ran four times a day. Over 3000 passengers rode a total of 4000 miles on this route, sometimes in as little as forty-five minutes. These carriages were noisy, dirty and dangerous. Their weight tore up the roads and led to sometimes hostile opposition from the local population.

Roads were sometimes blocked with trees to prevent their passage. This line preceded the first rail line. Lighter steam cars for as few as two passengers were developed, but in England the people had enough of the steam conveyances. Restrictive laws were passed, and the steam car was banned from the roads in England.

The Stanley brothers - Francis Edgar and Freelan O - developed their famous Stanley Steamers in the United States. Intense competitors, they raced them from 1902 until 1909, frequently beating larger gas powered cars. One of their cars set the speed record in 1906 at 127 MPH. The Stanley Steamer was manufactured until 1920’s when it was supplanted by gas cars using the internal combustion engine.

A Short History of the Locomotive

2012-01-16T06:21:00.001-08:00

A Short History of the Locomotive

Ninth In The Transportation Series

Although Watt’s steam engines were revolutionary and practical, the steam locomotive could not have seen widespread use with it. The engine was simply too large and heavy for mobile use. The low pressure steam it used was impractical for anything but stationary use.

It was left to a man named Richard Trevithick to develop high pressure steam engines, and after it the first useful steam engine. His engine was lighter and more compact. By 1803 he built the first one, dubbed the New Castle, and on February 21, 1804 put it to it’s first test. It hauled ten tons of iron ore and seventy men on a tramway for a distance of ten miles. Two other engines were built by Trevithick from 1803 - 1808. The limiting factor for these engines was the iron rails in use at the time. The rails couldn’t support the engines, so he abandoned the project.

By 1825 George Stephenson ran the first commercial passenger train. On September 27 of that year his locomotive, the Locomotion, pulled 450 passengers from Darlington to Stockton, England at 15 MPH. This event marked the beginning of the railroad as a true transportation method. In 1829, he built the Rocket, which could travel 36 MPH.

Farmers violently opposed the first rail lines with the understandable fear that rail transportation would eliminate the need for horses. The farmers depended on the sale of oats, which the horses ate, for their livelihood. Their fears were unfounded - horses continued to be important for many years after.

The Rocket served as a prototype for later engines. It had two drive wheels, which in later engines increased this number to four. As the technology improved, large engines could have as many as fourteen drive wheels. Leading trucks were added to aid in steering over the rails. Trailing trucks were added to some engine designs to aid in staying on the rails at higher speeds. Engine designations used the number of wheels to identify them. A 2-4-2 engine had two wheels on the leading truck, four driving wheels, and two wheels on the trailing truck.

Its introduction, along with corresponding improvements in rolling stock, rail, and further steam engine technology fueled a world-wide railroad building explosion, which in turn aided the Industrial Revolution in changing the way the world’s economy functioned.

Steam engines had many virtues. Fuel - wood or coal, water, were locally available everywhere, and they were simple in construction. The engines were very durable, operating in bad conditions well, and handling abuse. Tank engines carried all their fuel and water needed on themselves. Larger ‘tender’ engines needed a tender to carry wood/coal and water. Some Twentieth Century engines used oil for fuel.

The first North American locomotive was called the Sourbridge Lion. It was run in 1829 at Honesdale, Pennsylvania.

It’s impossible to calculate how important the steam locomotive was to the world. The railroad moved manufactured goods, people, minerals, agricultural products, and mail. The locomotive made travel easier and cheaper. It took the first step in making the world smaller.

Steam engines were primarily used up until W.W.II. Because of their durability and ability to tolerate abuse, they didn’t die fast. Many ‘steamers’ were still in use yet in the 1950’ and 1960’s in many parts of the world.

A Short History of Railroads

2012-01-13T06:39:00.001-08:00

Eighth In The Transportation Series

In today’s world of superhighways and jet travel, it’s hard to understand how important the development of the railroad was as a method of transportation. The railroad was primarily developed in the 19th century. At this time the horse was the primary means of motive power. Wagons behind horses hauled freight and passengers. The roads were mostly dirt, or gravel at best. Travel was hard, slow, and dirty. Water transportation was limited to lakes, oceans, and rivers. Canals were used, but were expensive to construct and maintain. They were also limited in the type of terrain in which they could operate.
Steel wheels on steel track provide a low friction contact, creating a very efficient method of moving things. It takes approximately one horsepower to move one ton of weight over rails. By contrast, semi-trucks require about ten horsepower to move one ton. Rail power provides about the same savings in fuel efficiency and manpower to operate.

The first ‘railways’ constructed consisted of wooden planks placed on the ground over which wagons were pulled by horses. The earliest recorded railroad of this type was in Leberthal, Alsace about 1550. Improvements were made over time to include adding flanges to the wagon wheels to keep them on the rails and make them self-steering. Crossties were added to the rails to help the rails stay parallel to each other.

These railways, called tramways, were mostly used in mining operations to aid in moving heavy loads of ore. The wooden rails allowed faster, easier movement of heavier loads than could be transported on the rutted mud roads common during that period.

Improvements to the rails and wheels of the early tramways allowed even easier transportation. The wood rails had iron facings added. Wheels were then provided with an iron rim. In 1767 an iron foundry in England made the first iron rails. This again increased the amount of weight which could be transported. Modern rails evolved from ‘edge’ rails which were developed in northern England in the early 19th century.

The introduction of the steam engine in the early 1800’s spurred improvements in other rail technology. The iron rails couldn’t support the heavier engines, or the loads they could pull. The Bessemer process of mass producing steel, developed in the 1840’s - 1850’s, created the next revolution in rail technology. Steel rails were much stronger than cast iron, and could hold more weight. Steel rails were first made in England. They began being used in the United States in 1865. This development, in addition to the evolution of the steam locomotive, created the conditions needed for the vast expansion of railways which followed.

It wasn’t until the invention of the steam engine in the early 19th Century, that railroads developed into a major transportation system. The next installment in this series will deal more extensively with the steam engine.

The first railway in the world to carry both passengers and freight was the Stockton and Darlington in England. From this railroad, the popularity of railways soon spread worldwide. In the United States, the first railroad company was the Baltimore & Ohio. It was chartered in 1827.

As railroads spread, the gauge of the railroad became an important issue between different railroad companies, and countries engaging in commerce. The gauge of the track is the distance between the rails measured from the inside face of the rails. Most Western countries, including the United States, adopted the English ‘standard gauge’ of 4 feet, 8.5 inches. Spain and Portugal developed their own gauge. ‘Narrow gauge’ railroads were used in mountainous areas. The closer rail configuration allowed tighter turns to allow for the difficult mountain terrain.
The development of specialized cars aided in the rail transportation of many different types of goods and passengers. Grain, minerals, chemicals, and lumber all have cars designed to safely move them from one point to another. Passenger cars include dining cars, sleeper cars, observation cars, and coach cars. Piggy back cars can transport semi-trailers over long distances, allowing the tractors to complete the local delivery of the product.

Railroads in the United States quickly became an important part of the economy and culture. There were a few operating tramways in the 18th Century. The first true railway was the Granite Line, a gravity powered line which hauled granite from quarry to wharf. This line supplied the granite to build the Bunker Hill Monument in Massachusetts. Horses and a stationary steam engine equipped with a continuous chain also powered this line.

The B & O (Baltimore & Ohio) railroad was chartered in 1827, and began operations in 1830 with thirteen miles of track. There were 23 total miles of rail lines in the United States in that year. By 1848 there were 5996 miles of track, mostly linking the cities on the east coast. During the 1850’s, the average per year construction of track was about 2000 miles. By now, the interior of the country was connected to the east. A coast to coast railway was sorely needed. Construction was slowed by the Civil War, but this goal was reached on May 10, 1869. The Golden Spike was driven in at Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869.

This was an important event in the building of the nation. The rail line helped unite the country, allowing fast, reliable transport of freight, passengers, and mail from New York to California and all points in between.

Rail has diminished in recent years. Maybe we should re-examine this trend due to the expense of road-building, maintenance, and overcrowded highways. Trains offer superior performance in fuel and manpower needs for transportation.

A Short History of the Steam Engine

2012-01-12T06:07:00.000-08:00

A Short History of the Steam Engine

The transportation methods covered by this series have so far used either human or animal based power systems. Walking limits us severely in both the distance and speed which a person can travel. Animal transportation is better, but is still slow. Additionally, an enormous amount of agricultural land which could be devoted to raising food for humans must be devoted to support the animals.
A big improvement over these two types of transportation is mechanical power. Mechanical power is more efficient and portable than animal power. Steam engines were the first practical mechanical engines built.

Hero of Alexandria built the first operating steam apparatus around the first century AD. It was called the aeoliphile, and had no practical purpose. It consisted of a hollow ball mounted on two metal tubes in such a way that the ball could turn, using the tubes as axles. Two additional tubes exited the ball, perpendicular to the axles. These tubes were bent at about a ninety degree angle. The axle tubes were connected to a boiler which supplied steam to the ball when the water in the boiler was heated. The steam exited the ball through the vent tubes, causing the ball to spin. The aeoliphile was considered a toy by the ancient world and no application was ever found for it.

The first important step in mechanical power came in 1698. Coal was an important source of heat for homes and businesses at this time. Coal mines, since they are underground, have the unfortunate habit of collecting water from above ground. In pre-industrial times, removing this water was a major problem. A military engineer named Thomas Savery solved this problem with his invention of the steam powered suction pump. This pump, it was found, could also supply water to large buildings.

The Savery pump, improvement that it was, was still very inefficient. Thomas Newcomen, another Englishman, devised a steam powered piston pump in 1712. It proved to be much more efficient than the Savery pump, but the apparatus was still limited to pumping water.

James Watt was called on to repair a Newcomen engine in 1764. Seeing the limitations, he began working to improve the engine. His first innovation, which was the beginning of a twenty five year career of improvements on the steam engine, was to the condenser of the engine. Watt’s first improved engines were still limited to pumping water because their motion was reciprocating - or back and forth. The ‘sun and planet’ gear system he devised in 1781 gave the engine a rotary movement. This opened the door to many more applications for the engine. This was one of the most important developments in modern times.

With the development of the steam engine from novelty to useful machine, the stage was set for the Industrial Revolution and improved methods of transportation. Soon the engines were powering factories turning out products. The rise of the railroad using steam powered locomotives forever changed the course of our history, allowing fast, convenient travel. Shipping became faster and more reliable with steam engines providing the power to cross vast oceans swiftly.

A Short History of the Wagon

2012-01-11T05:53:00.000-08:00

A Short History of the Wagon

It’s probable that the domestication of animals - particularly the ox and the horse, led to the invention of the wheel. Men could now travel faster, and carry more gear than they could on foot. The travois was probably the precursor of the wagon, and was the first innovation allowing animals to carry more than could be carried on their backs. The travois, simply one pole secured to each side of an animal and drug along behind, greatly increased the amount of weight an animal could carry. However, as good as it was, the travois was still pretty inefficient.

During prehistoric times, large heavy items were rolled from place to place with logs placed under them. No one knows for sure, but it’s feasible that the idea for the wheel came from this practice. At any rate, someone came up with the concept of adding wheels to the travois sometime before 3500 BC. This is when we have our first archeological evidence for wheeled vehicles. Thus, the first wheeled vehicles were probably travois transformed into carts, to be pulled by a single animal.

The next important change to take place was the four wheeled wagon. It could be easily pulled by more than one animal, was more stabile than the cart, and could handle more weight. By 100 BC wagons were in general use, and served mankind as our primary land transportation for almost 2000 years. Soon after their inception, wagons were being designed and built for many different purposes. Springs were added to wagons used to haul passengers. Wagons used for freight were designed with other features.

The evolution of the passenger coach provided more comforts for travelers. It had a roof and seating for from four to six people. Hungary is thought to be the birthplace of the coach, dating from about the 1400’s. Its use gradually spread over Europe and to England by about 1555. Its use in colonial America was limited by roads - there weren’t many roads good enough to allow their use. Only Boston and New York had roads improved enough to permit travel by coach.

The America in this period was a far different place than the nation we know today. Roads were nonexistent to poor. Travel was difficult and required rugged wagons. The Conestoga Wagon was designed to be used under these difficult conditions. It originated in the Conestega Creek region of Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. It was a workhorse, carrying up to six tons of freight, and used up to six horses to draw it. Its canvas top protected the flour, iron, wheat, tobacco, pottery or other commodity it carried from rain and snow. The Conestoga Wagon was the primary wagon for freight during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

The Conestoga Wagon served as the model for a later wagon - the famed covered wagon, or prarie schooner which was used by countless pioneers settling the vast American West. The prarie schooner had a flatter body and shorter sides than the Conestaga wagon. It was nicknamed the prarie schooner because from a distance the white canvas top on the wagon looked like a schooner ship on the prarie. The prarie schooner was probably the most important wagon in American history. It served as transportation, home, boat, protection from elements and Indian attacks, and hospital for thousands of immigrants heading West.

Another legendary American wagon was the stage coach. The stage coach was preceded by the stage wagon. In this wagon there were no springs to cushion the bumps in the roads, and the seats were backless. The most famous of these was called the ‘Flying Machine’, which could travel the ninety miles between Philadelphia and New York in a day and a half! They had canvass tops for protection from the rain.

The classic ‘stage coach’ was the Concord coach manufactured in Concord, New Hampshire from about 1827 until 1910. This coach used six to eight horses to pull up to nine passengers on three inside seats. A driver and armed guard, if necessary, sat on the roof.

A Short History of the Wheel

2012-01-10T06:09:00.000-08:00

A Short History of the Wheel

Fifth In The Transportation Series

The domestication of animals increased the efficiency of travel for our ancestors, as they could now travel faster, and carry heavier loads. Sidepacks gave way to slings and travois, allowing for more weight to be transported by the animals.

In ancient times, heavy items were moved by placing the load on horizontally placed logs. The load could then be ‘rolled’ to the desired location. This method of moving heavy items probably led to the invention of the wheel. This important innovation is clouded in the mists of time. The first wheeled vehicles were probably travois which had wheels and axle added to them. From this simple vehicle carts and wagons evolved.

The first archeological evidence we have for the wheel comes from about 4000 BC. A clay model of a wheeled vehicle, a four wheeled cart, was found near Szigetszentmárton, Hungary.
The earliest known civilization were the Sumerians, who lived in the area between the Tigris and Euphrates in present day Iraq. Sumerian pictographs dating from about 3500 BC show a sledge equipped with wheels.

The earliest wheels were constructed from wooden planks held together with transverse struts. These wheels were very heavy, and required oxen to pull the carts equipped with them. The spoked wheel was developed around 2000 BC. These wheels were lighter, allowing smaller mules to be employed pulling wagons. Further improvement in wheel design lightened it more. The carts equipped with these improved wheels allowed the smaller, faster horse to be employed to pull them.

This development, in turn, led to the development of the war chariot. The war chariot made the early empires of the Assyrians, Babylonians, and others possible by allowing the fast movement of troops over larger distances. The Persians made the wheel into a weapon of terror by attaching blades which were designed to mow down opposing infantry.

The first major improvement to the wheel was the addition of the tire. A tire is defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica as a continuous band that encircles the rim of a wheel and forms a tread that rolls on either a road, a prepared track, or the ground. The first tires consisted of an iron band which was heated, causing it to expand. It was then pounded over the wooden wheel framework. The iron would then contract as it cooled, holding the wheel assembly together.

With some modifications, this was pretty much the latest word in tires until the early 1800’s. European discoveries in the late 1400’s had major implications for the wheel. Columbus, on his voyages, observed natives playing with a ball made from the gum of a tree.

The Spaniard’s later observed American Indians obtaining a milk type of substance from gashes on certain types of trees. The natives would brush this ‘milk’ onto their cloaks to dry. It would then be pressed into a mold to obtain footwear, or to make bottles.

A British scientist named Joseph Priestley called this substance ‘rubber’ after discovering its usefulness for rubbing out pencil marks. Rubber was first used to waterproof shoes and clothing.
This early rubber had limited uses because of its tendendancy to soften under heat and harden under cold temperatures. It was also odorous, tacky, and perishable. A fellow by the name of Charles Goodyear developed the vulcanization process in 1839 which removed these undesirable properties. It was now useful for many other things, including bicycle, buggy, and later, automobile tires. Rubber absorbed bumps much better than steel tires, and was also more lightweight.

These early rubber tires were solid rubber. Pneumatic, or air filled tires were invented first by an Englishman named Robert William Thomson in 1845. He also made a solid rubber tire which was more popular with the public. His pneumatic tire was forgotten until bicycles started becoming more popular in the late 1800’s. By 1888 John Boyd Dunlop began making pneumatic tires for bikes.
Michelin & Cie, a French rubber manufacturer started making the first pneumatic tires for the newly popular automobile. Synthetic materials, developed in the twentieth century, have replaced rubber as a tire ingredient.

The next column in this series will focus on the development of the wagon.

A Short History of the Horse

2012-01-09T06:09:00.000-08:00

A Short History of the Horse

The Fourth Article In The Transportation Series

They range wild and free over the landscape of our western states. They’ve plowed our fields, pulled our wagons, provided us with food, and allowed heroes to ride off into the sunset with the heroine . They, of course are horses. The horse has captured our imagination like almost no other domesticated animal.

Horses evolved, scientists tell us, from a fox sized animal called Eohippus during the Eocene Epoch, which was about 60,000,000 years ago. One of nature’s success stories, it soon spread to South America, and later to Eurasian grasslands over the land bridge which appears during ice ages. About 8,000 to 10,000 years ago it became extinct in its American homeland.

Earth has periodic climatic changes. The last major one ended an ice age about 10,000 years ago, submerging the land link between North America and Asia. Due to this climatic change, the horse could not migrate back to its homeland until Spanish conquistadors brought them back in the 16th century.

Eohippus evolved into four main groupings of animals - the domestic horse, the African Zebra, the king and onager asses of Asia, and the wild ass of Africa. The wild horses of western America are descendants of domestic horses which have either escaped or been turned loose.

During stone age times the horse was plentiful in Europe, and was hunted for food by the prehistoric inhabitants there. By the time of the Bronze Age - about 1900 BC in Europe, horses had been domesticated. Indo-European tribes inhabiting the steppes north of the Caspian and Black seas are thought to be the first people to domesticate horses.

The different breeds of horses were developed in different areas, for distinct purposes. Strong, heavily built draft horses apparently have their origins in Europe. Slow, they were used as pack animals, and for hauling heavy loads on wagons. They were also useful for military purposes, as the knight in shining armor was quite a load requiring a big, strong horse.

Arabian horses were bred in the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East. Small and fast, they were ideal for riding through an arid landscape, covering long distances quickly.
The British Isles are the probable ancestral home of the pony.

It would be hard to overstate the importance of the horse to our civilization. Mounted, a man can travel much faster and farther than he can on foot. Horses can carry heavier loads faster and farther than a man can. The horse has plowed, planted, and cultivated our fields. It has pumped water, herded cattle, and performed countless other tasks either too hard or tedious for its human keepers
The horse has saved lives in medicine, too. The antitoxin for tetanus is obtained from horses which have been inoculated with tetanus toxic. Manufacturing has benefited from the horse also, as an excellent quality glue is made from the horse’s bones and cartilage. The horse has provided clothing with its fur, and leather from the horse is used to make belts, shoes, and other apparel. Horsehair is used for stuffing in pillows and furniture, and makes excellent artists brushes. They have even aided our cultural development, as horsehair is used for violin strings.

You will also find horses in the hobby shop. Safari collectable toys have excellent reproductions of many different breeds of horses. Craft House has devoted a whole series of paint-by-number paintings to horses. You can paint a masterpiece of your favorite animal. You can even carve horses. Allowed has a neat horse team you can carve in its line of wood kits. You can see inside a horse using Skilkraft’s The Visible Horse Kit. It takes a peek into the internal working of a horse - organs, skeletal structure, etc.

It’s easy to see why the horse is one of our most beloved domesticated animals. Horses have made innumerable contributions to our civilization.

A Short History of the Boat

2012-01-06T06:46:00.001-08:00

A Short History of the Boat

New England clipper ships and British composite hulls represented the apex of wind powered ships. Steam power was the next revolutionary step in the development of modern shipping.

John Fitch, an American inventor was the first known person to mount a steam engine on a boat in 1786 on the Delaware River. Design problems discouraged him, and he gave up.
About twenty years later in 1807, Robert Fulton designed and built the first successful steam paddle wheeler. This was the forerunner of the boats of Mark Twain, and they dominated not just American, but the world's inland lakes and rivers for a century. These great boats formed the gist of legend, and were very instrumental to the development of the nation. They dominated freight and passenger service, until railroads were fully built later in the century.

Following the steam paddle wheeler was the invention of the screw propeller. Although invented by American John Stevens in 1804, it wasn't successfully used until 1844 in the British ship Great Britain. Another revolutionary material used by the builders of this ship was the iron hull. Iron had been largely shunned as a shipbuilding material until this time. The Great Britain survived a wreck, and several severe storms while beached. When the boat was later salvaged and refloated, the iron hull proved its seaworthiness.

Steam engine power until the 1890's took the form of steam reciprocating, or piston engines. After that time steam turbines began to appear as the steamers main power plant. This is now standard installation for modern steamers. Some steamers use nuclear power plants to provide steam for their turbines. This is what is used in nuclear powered ships and submarines.

By the early 20th century, internal combustion engines had been developed to provide a more efficient alternative to steam. Most modern ships are motor ships powered by diesel power plants.
As boatbuilding advanced from simple dugouts, rafts, and canoes, more complex building techniques were needed. The earliest boats were built using the 'design as you go' method, utilizing whatever materials were on hand. Boatbuilders started using scale models to design their ships before beginning construction as early as 500 B. C. Designers could work out the shape and position of hull and other components, and transfer the designs to the shipbuilding materials after scaling up.

Hobbyist may build models of ships as a satisfying and rewarding hobby. There are many different types of ship models available, and a model of just about any type of boat may be found.
Wood models of ships are traditional and popular. Modeling techniques for this type of model are not difficult, and can be learned from the Midwest Products Success Series. There are four skill levels which include canoes, schooners, and skiffs.

Advanced modelers can choose ship models from Latina. These beautiful kits include models of riverboats, Viking longships, galleys, great ships, and fishing boats. Simpler kits for kids from Woodkrafter and Brandine can double as toys or bathtub boats when construction is complete.

Plastic model ship kits are also popular, with many types of boat for the modeler to choose from. Beautifully detailed sailing ships are easier and faster to build up than wood kits. The most popular plastic kits are steel hulled ships. Warships from World War II are the most prevalent models found in this class, although a small number of passenger ships - most notably the Titanic, can also be found.
It's easy to model boats. Visit TrainTown to find models of our most ancient mode of transportation.

A Short History Of Boats

2012-01-05T05:53:00.000-08:00

A Short History Of Boats

If you enjoy canoeing, rafting, or motorboating, you are enjoying one of the most ancient form of transportations developed by humans. The first column in this series dealt with walking as the most basic form of transportation humans use. Using watercraft to negotiate rivers, streams, and lakes was the next step to easier long distance travel.

Early men observed logs floating on water, and some adventurous fellow undoubtedly jumped on one just to see where it would take him. From there, it is not a great leap of imagination to simply bind several logs together with vines or leather strips to build a raft. The great art of boatbuilding began with the construction of the simple raft, the most primitive form of watercraft.

Although simple, don't underestimate the versatility and durability of the raft. Thor Heyerdahl proved the feasibility of travelers settling the Polynesian Islands using rafts from South America. He and his hardy crew traveled 4300 nautical miles on the balsa raft Kon-Tiki. A nautical mile is approximately 1.15 land miles.

The area in which people lived and the materials available, dictated what types of boats were built by early cultures. People living in heavily forested temperate climates built log dugouts using fire or stone scrapers to hollow out logs. These boats were heavy and not very maneuverable. American Indians in the northwest developed this type of boat to its highest form.

People in the arid Mediterranean and Mesopotamian areas developed boats made of reed, a plentiful plant found in the Nile, Euphrates and Tigris rivers. These boats were first built about 5000 years ago by the Sumaerians and Egyptians. Thor Heyerdahl also tested this type of boat during a long voyage and found reed boats to also be quite durable.

Arctic peoples built small, skin covered boats, like the kayak and coracle, using lightweight wood framework covered with animal skins. These types of boats are quite seaworthy and are used for travel and hunting.

Canoes were developed by many primitive societies. The American Indian's canoes were the best in the world. Some of these were up to forty six feet long, and used extremely strong and flexible construction techniques.

These types of boats have been used since the dawn of human existence. It is difficult to assess just when these boats were first used, but they have long been an important part of our heritage.
The first steps in naval architecture occurred when builders learned to build boats with wooden boards over a wooden framework. Wooden dugout canoes apparently formed the framework for this type of boat, which first appeared during the Bronze Age, about 3000 B. C.

These early wooden ships used a combination of wind and oar for power and were called galleys. Egyptian boats from about 3000 B. C. accommodated about twenty oarsmen and several head of cattle, or cargo of similar weight. Later Greek and Roman ships were of similar design, and held a complement of about 220 men, mostly oarsmen.

The Vikings were also accomplished boat builders, and they used an innovative construction process called lapstraking. In this construction technique the boards overlap each other, similar to weatherboarding on a house. These sturdy boats had banks of up to sixty-four or more oars, and enabled the Vikings to range far and wide. They colonized Iceland and Greenland with them, and apparently reached North America around the year 1000 A. D.

By the end of the Middle Ages, galleys had been developed to hold up to about 1200 men, three masts, forty oars and several cannon. Design differences between merchant and warship until now had been minimal. Ships with both sails and oars were used as both merchant and warship. Ships powered only by oar were used mostly as warships.

By the time of Christopher Columbus improvements in sail and hull design allowed the development of sail-only ships. The caravel, built primarily by Spain and Portugal, was among the first of the 'all sail' ships. Small and sturdy, the caravel was the ship used by Columbus on his first voyages to America, and saw service transporting the Spanish Conquistadores in their explorations around the world.
Great Britain dominated the world with the legendary 'great ships' of legend which they excelled in constructing in the 16th and 17th century. The romantic sailing ship of that era had four to five masts and had as many as sixty guns. Merchant ships were somewhat smaller, but of similar design. These ships were large and impressive, but weren't very fast.

Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention. During the Revolutionary period, Americans needed smaller, faster ships for illegal trading. New England sloops and schooners easily outpaced the great ships from other nations. The famous 'Baltimore Clipper' ships set speed records and aided in blockade running and privateering.

American clippers dominated world trade for almost 100 years, until the British came up with a better hull design. This was the composite hull, which consisted of wood planking over an iron frame. The Cutty Sark was the most famous ship using this construction.

The next column will cover later ship design and construction. Modeling ships will also be included

A Short History of Walking

2012-01-04T06:29:00.000-08:00

Transportation Series
First of a series

A Short History of Walking

This column is the first of a series which will cover the evolution of human transportation, and methods the hobbyist can use to model this progress. Modern man has become dependent upon, and to a large degree takes for granted, a very sophisticated transportation system. We forget that two generations ago - a very short period of time in the historical time-frame - transportation was difficult, time consuming, and hard. Travel today is something we do easily. In our grandparents time, again just a short 100 years ago, it was much different. This series is something I have wanted to do for a long time.

Go with me on a journey in which we will both learn, and maybe come away somewhat more appreciative of what we have.

We will start by exploring the most basic of all our transportation modes - walking. Unlike most of the other revolutions in travel, walking cannot have a precise date attached to it as the date when the first hominid stood upon its legs and walked upright. Scientists have not determined exactly when this occurred, or even an exact geographic location. This will probably never be known, as fossil records are incomplete, and the tremendous amount of time which has passed since it occurred. The oldest hominid fossil found to date which walked upright is the famous 'Lucy' , discovered by American paleontologist Donald Johnson in East Africa, near the Red Sea. Lucy has been dated to about four million years old, and her species may not be the first hominids which walked upright.

All agree walking is fundamental to our development into the beings we are today. Scientists tell us the ability to walk has to do more with the curvature of the spine than any other physical characteristic. The human spine has a distinct 'S' curve to it that make walking upright comfortable and natural to the human. No other animal has this physical feature. Apes can walk upright, but not for long periods, and are not comfortable doing so, scientists tell us. So walking upright is a uniquely human achievement among Earth's creatures.

What has this meant for humans? All other creatures need all four limbs to travel from place to place. Walking upright freed our hands for other purposes - fashioning the tools and weapons needed for self-protection and procuring food. Some scientists feel this was crucial to the development of our brains. Physically weak, slow, and lacking natural weapons compared with the other creatures inhabiting our world, our hands and brains provided an equalizing force enabling us to survive in a cruel and un-forgiving world.

Walking remained the primary mode of transportation for millions of years. Travel was slow, limited to the distance a person could walk. While walking, close watch had to be kept for predators seeking a meal.

Feet were unprotected for most of this time. The first shoes were probably developed by the ancient Egyptians, and consisted of papyrus reeds woven together, and held to the foot by thongs. Not very comfortable or fashionable by today's standards, but an improvement over walking barefoot over stony ground.

Walking remained an important means of transportation into relatively modern times. My grandfather often told about his teen years in the early 1900's, walking behind a horse all day plowing or planting crops. Wanting to go to a dance on Saturday night, he would ask his father if he could borrow the horse to ride. He was always told "The horse worked all day pulling a plow. It needs to rest. If you want to go to a dance, you can walk". This, I was told, was a pretty common response. If you wanted to go somewhere, you walked.

Today we don't walk enough. Walking is done for pleasure, or exercise, not as a primary means of transportation for long, or even short, distances. Hiking trails, treadmills, and other exercise equipment has been developed to correct this need.

The science department at TrainTown has a number of kits which can help you explore human anatomy, and prehistoric development. Skillcraft's Human Skeleton kit illustrates the spine's curvature, and other skeletal features which enable us to walk. EDI kits The Amazing Neanderthals and Our Amazing Ancestors enable you to study prehistoric society's and how they lived and traveled.

History of the Rocket and Rocketry Part 2

2012-01-03T06:31:00.000-08:00

History of the Rocket and Rocketry Part 2

History of the Rocket
The story of the Mercury Atlas Rocket, and the manned American Space Program begins in the 1920's with a man named Robert Hutchings Goddard. His contributions to the history of the rocket are many. Dr. Goddard's day job was as professor of physics at Clark College (Currently Clark University). Professor Goddard was fascinated with rockets, however, and spent a lot of time designing and building them. Solid propellants, similar to gunpowder only mixed in different proportions to allow slower burning, had powered all rockets previous to Dr. Goddard. This propellant mix was not appreciably different from that of the ancient Chinese who first developed rockets in the early thirteenth century. Dr. Goddard developed the first liquid propellant fueled rocket, which he launched on March 16, 1926, near Auburn, Massachusetts. This was an important development in rocketry for space flight, because gunpowder needs oxygen for fuel, and there is no oxygen in space. Liquid fueled rockets carry their own oxygen for fuel. Unfortunately, Goddard's work was largely ignored in the United States.

During this same period (1920's) Russian and German scientists were also working on rocket propulsion, and they didn't ignore Goddard's findings. Dr. Werner Von Braun was a brilliant German scientist who built on Godddard's work. Dr. Braun was one of the principal scientists who developed the V-2 rockets for the German war machine. Goddard's rockets had all been small rockets. The V-2 was the first large liquid fueled rocket. It was first launched on October 3, 1942 from the island of Usedom, near Peennemunde, Germany. The V-2 was an important development in rocketry. As a weapon, it terrified the English, and caused much destruction and death. But it's more important contribution was its peaceful application as a space delivery vehicle. Rocketry history since than has been based on this work.

Victorious American forces brought Dr. Braun and other scientists to the United States, along with some V-2 rockets. These and other elements of the German rocket program were essential to the development of the X-1 rocket plane in which Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier on October 14, 1947.

The 1950's saw the beginnings of the Cold War, and its twin the Space Race, a period well remembered by most 'Baby Boomers'. The Russians took the lead in this race with the first orbiting satellite, Sputnik I, launched on October 4, 1957. Sputnik II followed on November 3. 1957. Although the United States was well along with this type of technology, the propaganda value of this feat was invaluable, and Americans were terrified. In an age of atomic weapons, the nation that had an effective missile delivery system had a distinct advantage.

The Russian development threw the American space program into a turmoil. X-15 technology would have delivered a 'space plane' in two to three years, but for American politicians, this was too long a time to 'lag behind' the Soviets. The first American satellite, Explorer I, joined Sputniks I and II on January 31, 1958, four months after the initial Soviet launch. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was established by Act of Congress on July 29, 1958. The Americans decided to abandon the slower 'space plane' approach to space flight, and follow the quicker 'rocket' approach.

Manned space flight came a step closer to reality with the establishment of the American Mercury and the Russian Vostok space programs. Again, the Russians won this achievement with the launch of Vostok I, and Yuri Garigan became the first man in space on April 12, 1961. Alan Shephard followed on May 5, 1961 to become the first American in space riding a Mercury Atlas rocket named Freedom 7. John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth in Friendship 7 on February 20, 1962.

If you're interested in a more complete story about the Mercury Space Program, and more of Chuck Yeager's story, read The Right Stuff By Tom Wolf. It's an excellent story about America's first steps into space.

History of the Rocket and Rocketry

2012-01-02T06:32:00.000-08:00

History of the Rocket and Rocketry

The beginnings of the history of rocketry are shrouded in the mists of time. Mongol chronicles from 1232 report that the Chinese used "arrows of flying fire" against them in their defense of the city of K'ai-feng . Since they also reported another weapon used which they called "heaven shaking thunder", historians have concluded that this was the first recorded use of gunpowder to make primitive bombs and rockets in history.

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The Mongols were quick to grasp the new technology, using rockets against Russia in the Battle of Legnica in 1241. The Arabs used rockets in their Iberian campaigns in 1249, and other European powers soon followed. The construction techniques of these first rocket was not recorded, and no rockets have survived. They were probably made of tightly wrapped paper tubes packed with gunpowder. These rockets had a very limited range, and no directional control.

A German army colonel, history has not recorded his name, made the first major construction improvement in 1668, constructing rockets from wood which had been wrapped in glue soaked sailcloth. The rocket weighed 132 pounds and contained a 16 pound charge of powder. These rockets had more range than previous one, but rockets were still little used, except in the fireworks displays which had become popular in Europe during this time.

An Indian prince - Hyder Ali, made the next major improvement in rocket design. His hammered soft iron rocket body was the first metal body rocket. It could develop higher internal pressure than earlier rockets enabling it to hold a larger powder charge, giving a range of almost a mile. This weapon still had no directional control, but was very effective against cavalry troops if fired em masse either in the air, or sent skimming over the ground. The British found this out, to their dismay, in the wars against India in the 1700’s.

This weapon caused a bit of a stir in Europe, giving Sir William Congreve an incentive to experiment with rocket construction. Due to his efforts, black powder mixes and rocket construction were improved and standardized. He developed timed explosives and incendiary charges. He designed eight different rocket sizes with ranges from 1/2 to two miles.

The Congreve rocket was used in many military campaigns in Europe and elsewhere. The British Army organized rocket brigades to bombard enemy positions. It was the Congreve rocket bombardment during the war of 1812 which inspired Francis Scott Keye to write The Star Spangled Banner.

William Hale designed rocket fins which would cause the rocket to spin, around 1850, giving the rocket more stability, thus improving its accuracy.

Advances in artillery pieces outpaced rocket design improvements and artillery displaced the rocket. Rockets still found use in swampy or mountainous terrain where the heavy artillery pieces were hard or impossible to transport.

A Swede, Wilhelm Unge, made the next improvement in the rocket. He called his creation an "aerial torpedo", made for defense against dirigibles. His improvements consisted of an improved rocket motor nozzle and a switch from gunpowder to a nitroglycerin based propellant. The Krupp armament firm in Germany obtained the patents for this devise in 1909, and experimented further.

About this time, an American named Robert Hutchings Goddard began experiments in rocketry. During W.W.I, he developed small rockets which were the later developed into the bazooka.

Besides Goddard, others in the US were experimenting with rockets. Elmer and his son Lawrence Sperry developed an "Arial torpedo" in 1917, which utilized gyroscopic control to allow the rocket to fly to a preselected target. Charles F. Kettering in 1918 designed a rocket which used both gyroscopic and barometric control to achieve both altitude and directional control.

By the late nineteenth century, scientists were envisioning rocket powered space flight. This dream began to take shape with additional work from Goddard, who developed the liquid fuel rocket in the 1920's, with the first launch in 1926. He also launched the first instrument carrying rocket in 1929. He proposed the first serious plan to reach the moon with rocket powered flight, and it was Goddard more than anyone else who laid the foundation of the modern space program.

The Germans, because of a concentrated effort, were ahead of everyone else in rocket technology at the beginning of W.W.II. Under the direction of Dr. Werner Von Braun, the German Army developed a long range ballistic missile on the isolated island of Peenemunde in the late 1930’s.

The Germans utilized a variety of rockets during the war, the most ‘famous’ of which was the V-2, which scourged Britain. Most of these rockets were fired from mobile launchers, which could be hidden from Allied air attack, and moved into position when needed.

After the war, most of the initial rocket research was into intercontinental ballistic missile systems which could deliver nuclear weapons to faraway places. Surface to air missals were also made for defense against air attack. Air to air missals were made for blasting other planes out of the sky, and missals were developed to blast targets from the airplane to targets on the ground.

The most exciting rocket research, however, was the American and Russian developments which were to launch men into space, as envisioned by Goddard, and about a zillion science fiction writers. The rocket carried men to the moon in 1969, and will enable us to visit the other planets.

History Of The Board Game

2011-12-23T06:13:00.000-08:00

History Of The Board Game

Backgammon - History Of Board Game
People are competitive by nature, and they love to devise games to play. Games are enjoyable, and can teach valuable lessons about strategy, planning, patience, and most important - sportsmanship. Many different kinds of games are played, with the oldest games still among the most popular. Most modern board games have their historic origins in the games developed in ancient Persia (Iran) during the fifth century AD. Here, the ancestors of chess, parchisi, backgammon, and others were developed, and spread worldwide. It is in this area the the history of the board game probably began.

Backgammon, also called Trictrac, is one of the oldest games in existence. Indeed, it may be the oldest continuously played board game known in history. Games very similar to modern backgammon were played by the Babylonians, Greeks, and the Romans. In the New World the Aztecs and Iroquois played an independently developed game similar to backgammon. The rules for the modern form of backgammon were codified by Edmond Hoyle about 1750. Requirements for the game are a backgammon board, thirty counters, a set of two dice, and a doubling cube. The game is played by two people. The rules are fairly simple, and are included with a game set.

Another old favorite is dominos. The game originated in China, and was unknown in Europe until the 1750's. The name probably originated because of its resemblance to a hooded cloak of that name worn at the time. Dominos is best played by two competitors, although up to four may participate. A set consists of twenty-eight rectangular blocks called bones. Each bone has a dividing line on one side with one set of dots in each half. The dots are arranged in groups from blank to six, and the sets include every possible combination of blank to six. To play, the bones are placed face down on the table between the players and 'shuffled'. Each player chooses seven bones and places them on edge, visible to the player but facing away from and invisible to their opponent. Leftover bones form the 'boneyard'. One player, chosen by lot or coin toss, begins play by placing a bone face up on the table. The opponent must match one of the dot patterns with a bone from their own stock. If they can't match, they must draw from the boneyard until they can. The first player out of bones, or with the fewest 'points' when play can no longer continue, wins.

Cribbage is a complex card game played with a regular fifty-two card deck, and a cribbage board for keeping score. It was probably invented by Sir John Suckling in the 1600's as an elaboration of an older game called Noddy. Players are each dealt six cards, and score is kept on the board with options of collecting sixty-one or 121 points.

Checkers, or Draughts, is a board game for two players. Archeological evidence for a checker-like game has been found as far back as 1600 BC in Egypt. The game has a common origin with other Oriental games like Parchisi, Chess, and others. The board, identical to a chess board, consists of sixty-four squares consisting of two alternating colors. Each player receives a set of twelve circular 'checkers' of contrasting colors, commonly red and black. Checkers are moved diagonally on the dark colored squares. The checkers move one square at a time, unless jumping an opponents checkers, in which the move can continue as long as a piece can continue jumping. The object of the game is to remove all your opponents pieces by jumping them. No respect was given to checkers players until fairly modern times. The game was regaled as 'chess for ladies' by more snobbish chess lovers in earliest times. Sages that have studied both games aver that the skill needed to master them is equal. It may be best to just play the games, and not argue about them!

Board games have their origins far back in human history, and seem to have developed in very different human cultures in just about every geographic area where people settled. The importance of games to the competitive human nature is very important.

History Of The Garden Fountain

2011-12-22T05:45:00.001-08:00

History Of The Garden Fountain

Garden and indoor fountains have become popular in recent years because the sight and sound of trickling water is soothing to the soul. Water has been so important to our needs that fountains have been an important part of our architecture since very early in our history. The Babylonians in Mesopotamia used fountains as early as 3000 BC.

Natural springs were an important source of water for early civilizations. The Greeks built reservoirs and drawing basins into these springs, creating an artificial fountain. Large columnar shrines dedicated to whatever local deity was considered the inhabitant of the spring were built over or near the fountain. Fountains, for the Greeks, were thus beautiful, useful, and religious sites.

The Romans devised an elaborate water delivery system for their cities, of which fountains were an integral part. Large reservoirs were built near the cities to assure a stable water supply. Aqueducts carried the water from the reservoir to the city’s various fountains and baths for use by the people. Public fountains for use by the general population usually consisted of water flowing from the mouth of a carved animal or bust of a person or god. The water flowed into a basin where it was collected for use by the people of the city in urns or pots. Courtyard fountains for the aristocratic dwellings were quite ornate. Purely decorative fountains had been built by the Greeks, but the Romans developed this art form to a higher degree. Called nymphaea, these fountains became large pleasure houses for the Roman elite.

Early Christians found solace in the fountain also. They were considered a symbol of purification, and were used in the atrium court of the basilica. Monasteries of both the Western Church and the Byzantine empire made extensive use of fountains on their grounds.

Wells as a water source largely replaced the fountain during Middle Age Europe. It wasn’t until about the thirteenth century that fountains began to reappear on the continent. Table top fountains were the rage in the various royal courts, Byzantine versions sometimes using spiced wine instead of water.

Large public fountains sometimes served as a catalyst for rebuilding the timeworn European cities, much as sports stadiums spur downtown renewal in modern cities. These fountains, sometimes built with papal support, became quite elaborate. Leading architects and artists, Like Leonardo Da Vinci, became involved in their design.

Some of these fountains were constructed with elaborate mechanical devices which would perform some function to entertain visitors. The fountains built in 1549 at Villa d’Este, Tivoli France became a water organ which would play musical notes when certain stones were stepped on by guests. Other fountains included large reflecting pools, over which fireworks displays were set off , creating some very impressive displays. The palace at Versailles, France became the pinnacle of fountain construction. Copiously decorated with sculptural works, the multitude of fountain displays were supplied with water from a reservoir built about five hundred feet above the level of the Seine River. The reservoir was kept full by mechanical means from the river.

The garden fountain is part of our history and still an important part of modern architecture. City downtowns, office buildings, parks, shopping malls are just some of the public places which employ fountains to add beauty to their facilities.

A Short History Of Forensic Science

2011-12-21T05:57:00.000-08:00

A Short History Of Forensic Science
Modern forensics science uses a variety of methods to identify criminals, including modern innovations of DNA evidence, chemical evidence, among others. But the first scientific identification method was the fingerprint. This fingerprint identification is still very important in forensics and the history of the fingerprint in our civilization is a long one.

Google
The fact that every person has unique fingerprints has been known since very early in our history. The Assyrian Empire, which was located in the present Arab world in the approximate position of present day Iraq. This empire was founded approximately between 1813 and 1780 BC. The Assyrians developed an extensive legal and commercial system and used fingerprint impressions for signing legal documents.

The Chinese also used fingerprints for signing legal documents very early in their history.

Fingerprints as an identification system next enter the historical record with the proposal by Czech physiologist Johannes Evangelista Purkinje in 1823. Purkinje’s proposal to use fingerprints was ignored by the science and legal world.

The modern system of fingerprint classification was proposed by a British scientist Sir Francis Galton. He presented his system in a detailed study in the late nineteenth century. Mark Twain was undoubtedly influenced by Mr. Galton’s work when he wrote his classic novel, The Tragedy of Puddin’head Wilson, in 1894 in which fingerprinting plays a major role in the unmasking of a murderer.

History’s first use of fingerprints as a criminal investigation system was developed by Sir Edward Richard Henry in the 1890’s in Bengal, India. Henry introduced the system into Great Britain in 1901 when he became Assistant Commissioner of Metropolitan Police. This fingerprint identification system gradually began to be used throughout Europe and the United States.

It was found that natural oils on the skin would cause fingerprints to be left on any hard smooth surface. If this surface was subsequently dusted or chemically treated the invisible became visible and could be photographed. Modern forensics specialist uses a clear plastic tape-like substance to lift the print to be more easily used as evidence. In the United States early in the Twentieth Century many fingerprint archives were developed, leading to much confusion and inefficiency. The Federal Government in 1924 set up a central file in the Identification Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This division maintains a civil file and a criminal file.

Modern police departments digitize the fingerprint images which are then stored in computerized filing systems. Now, using the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS), police departments can check a fingerprint against a national database in a matter of hours.

History Of The Game Of Dominos

2011-12-20T06:06:00.001-08:00

History Of The Game Of Dominos

History Of The Game Of Dominos
I was reintroduced to a favorite childhood game by a friend one recent Christmas Eve. It was a game which I remembered playing with my grandmother as a boy, and seeing my friend pull out the game brought back some fond memories. It was a set of dominos which she had recently purchased, and she was eager to play. So we all gathered around the table and play commenced. And I remembered just how entertaining this simple little game is! Plus it is ideal for the holiday season as it doesn’t require a lot of concentration and there is ample opportunity for friendly banter between players and spectators. On top of this the game is intriguing and fun!

The Domino game, or similar, games have been played in many cultures around the world and the history of dominos is an interesting one. The Chinese are credited with making the first domino sets, and the game is first mentioned in Chinese history around 1120 AD. But there is an Egyptian set which is in King Tutankhamen's Museum in Cairo, Egypt which apparently dates from his reign in 1355 BC. The Chinese domino sets possibly evolved from dice, which in turn were imported from India somewhere in the dark misty passages of time. Eskimos of North America also play a game similar to dominos which they may have brought with them in their migrations out of Asia many centuries ago.

The game of dominos made its appearance in Europe sometime in the middle of the 19th century. There is some disagreement about whether the Europeans imported the game from China, or invented it themselves. There are important differences in the two games. Chinese dominos are larger and a set consists of 32 pieces and is divided into two categories - Military and Civilian. The Civilian category contains pieces which are duplicates while the Military pieces are unique. European sets have had 28 pieces from their inception and are not divided into categories.

Italy is the European country which has the first records of dominos. The name "Domino" is of French origin and was coined because of the similarity of the pieces to the winter cloak, called by the same name, worn by priests of that period. The cloak was black on the outside and white on the inside, mimicking the black on white appearance of the domino tiles. The first European dominos were constructed of two pieces - a thin sheet of ebony with the holes drilled in it was glued to a bone tile, and further secured with a pin in the middle. Because the piece could be spun on this pin, the pin became known as a spinner. Traditional domino sets still duplicate this pin, though modern methods of manufacture make it unnecessary.

A Short History of the Dinosaur

2011-12-19T11:51:00.000-08:00

A Short History of the Dinosaur

It is hard to believe that a group of animals which lived so long ago could have invaded popular culture as much as the dinosaurs have. This fascinating group of animals has provided the fodder for countless books and movies, and been the subject of innumerable popular exhibits for museums.

But what do we really know about the dinosaurs? When did they live? What was the world like when they were alive?

Because dinosaurs died many millions of years before humans evolved, no human has ever seen one. So how do we know they even existed?

It is hard to believe that a group of animals which lived so long ago could have invaded popular culture as much as the dinosaurs have. This fascinating group of animals has provided the fodder for countless books and movies, and been the subject of innumerable popular exhibits for museums.

But what do we really know about the dinosaurs? When did they live? What was the world like when they were alive?

Because dinosaurs died many millions of years before humans evolved, no human has ever seen one. So how do we know they even existed?

They left the record of their existence in the very ground beneath our feet, in the form of their fossilized remains. Paleontology is the study of fossilized plant and animal remains and this is the science which tells us most of what we have come to know about dinosaurs.

The name dinosaur was coined by a nineteenth century anatomist, Sir Richard Owen, who first studied dinosaur fossils in 1842. The name he drew from Greek words, deinos, meaning "terrible" and sauros, meaning "lizard". The name stuck, and we still call this large group of animals by Mr. Owens term.

Fossils are the remains of these animals which have been preserved in rock. Bone, teeth, and shells of long dead animals are preserved by a process called "fossilization". Woody plant material can also be preserved by this process.

Geologists studying the development and natural history of the earth have divided the timeline of earths history into long periods called eras. These vast groupings of time include millions of years of earth’s history. These are further divided into smaller units called periods. We are currently living in the Cenozoic Era which started approximately 65 million years ago. The Era immediately preceding the current era is called the Mesozoic Era. This Era lasted about 160 million years, from about 225 million years ago to 65 million years ago. This is the time frame in which the dinosaurs lived. Since humans didn’t begin evolving until about 2.5 million years ago, you can see that dinosaurs died out about 62 million years before our ancestors began to evolve.

The world which the dinosaurs knew was quite a bit different than the earth we know today. At the beginning of the Mesozoic Era the continents of the earth were not in the same position that they are today. A process called "continental drift", which is constantly occurring, is to blame for this. The earth is composed of distinctly different layers. The uppermost layer, where we live, is called the crust. This layer is basically solid rock. It floats upon the next layer, the mantle, which is composed of very hot molten rock. The continental crust floats upon this layer, and is constantly moving. This movement is very slow, occurring over millions of years.
Swimming Dinosaur
The continents at the beginning of the Mesozoic Era were all grouped together in a single large continent geologists call Pangaea. This "super continent" slowly broke up and drifted apart over millions of years.

The day was slightly shorter at this time. As the earth spins on its axis, gravitational influences of both the sun and moon cause its rotation to slow. This is apparent over millions of years. The sun was slightly cooler, then too. This was offset by the higher carbon dioxide levels in the earth’s atmosphere, causing earth’s climate to be somewhat warmer during the whole era than it is today.

The first period of the Mesozoic Era is called the Triassic Period. It lasted approximately 45 million years, until about 180 million years ago. The climate was subtropical into regions of what was to become North America as far north as current sites of Montana and New England. The Appalachian Mountains were birthed during this Period as the plates of the crust ground against each other as they slowly drifted north. The Triassic Period is when the first dinosaurs evolved from large crocodile-like animals called archosaurs. Fossil records from about 230 million years ago contain the first evidence of these dinosaurs.

The Triassic Period also saw the beginnings of the first insects-like creatures as well as small rodent-like mammals. Most vegetation was of the evergreen type. Most of the trees were similar to ginkgo and pine. Ferns, mosses and cycad palms also numerous. The flowering plants with which we are familiar were not in existence yet. Much of what is now the Midwest in North America was covered by a shallow sea.

The next Period in earth’s history is called the Jurassic Period. This Period lasted until around 135 million years ago, a period of about 45 million years. It is named after the Jura Mountains in Europe which contain many geological deposits from this period. An inland sea still covered much of North America. The climate was still very much warmer than it is today, and the flora of the period, which the great plant eating dinosaurs depended upon for food, still consisted of evergreen trees, tree ferns, scouring rushes, and ferns. The most well known dinosaurs, including the Tyrannosaurus Rex and the brachiosaur, appeared during this period. Small mammals were found on every continent except Australia, which by now had completely broken away from the other main landmass.

The last period of the Mesozoic Era is called the Cretaceous Period. It ended with the Dinosaur era, about 65 million years ago. Dinosaurs had become the unquestioned dominant animal group during this period, existing in many species and types. Flowering plants evolved during this time, and many of the trees, flowers, and other plants with which we are familiar had their beginnings during this period. The continents as we know them had largely formed by now, but the climate was still warmer than modern times. The Appalachian Mountains, which had largely eroded during the Jurassic Period, saw a period of more uplifting. The Rocky Mountains in the western North American continent began uplifting.
Dinosaur Triceratops
Dinosaurs, as a group, varied considerably. The smallest were only a couple of feet long. The largest grew to over eighty feet. Some, usually the four footed ones, were herbivores, eating only plants. The two legged ones, like the velociraptors and T-Rex, were ferocious carnivores. There were flying dinosaurs, crawling dinosaurs, walking dinosaurs and swimming dinosaurs. They were present on every continent of earth.

Scientists don’t know for sure if they were warm blooded, or cold blooded. Evidence suggests that they became more warm blooded through the ages.

They do know that most, if not all laid eggs. Typically, they dug nesting cavities into the earth and laid their eggs in them. Fossil evidence suggests that mortality for the small dinosaurs was very high.

Their skin was somewhat textured and bare, though some of the smaller ones may have been covered with a fibrous hair or feather like covering. Their eyes were about twice the size of mammals living today.

What happened to the dinosaurs? There are two theories in the scientific community, and both have supporting evidence.

One group of scientists believes that the dinosaurs became extinct over a long period of time, caused by environmental changes caused by a cooling earth and changing sea levels. Possibly the dinosaurs couldn’t adapt to the changes and died out.

Other scientists believe that mass extinction came rather quickly, the result of an asteroid collision with earth. This would have filled the atmosphere with a cloud of dust which blocked sunlight and killed the plants off which the dinosaurs need for food. Most of North and South America would have been devastated by the explosion. A crater has been found in the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico which is about the age of the dinosaur’s extinction.

Whatever happened, the dinosaurs are gone, leaving behind their fossils and legend. We are left to speculate about them based upon the fossil remains and what we can guess about their behavior by studying modern animals.

Coins - A Short History Of Coinage And Coin Collecting

2011-12-16T06:58:00.001-08:00

Coins - A Short History Of Coinage And Coin Collecting

The coins jingling around in your pocket or weighing down your purse usually don't attract much attention. The recent introduction of Statehood quarters by the US Mint has generated interest in the history of coins. Coin collecting is on the increase. We tend to take coins for granted, but really they are an essential part of life. Before coins were invented, barter was the system predominantly used to buy and sell.Many things were used as a standard of wealth, including cattle. This is very inconvenient. Imagine having to carry a cow in your pocket to be used to buy your daily needs. Coins provided a convenient way to transport and store wealth. A brief discussion of coinage and its history follows.

The coin is defined by the Encylopedia Britannica as being a piece of metal or, rarely, of some other material (such as leather or porcelain) certified by a mark or marks upon it as being of a specific intrinsic or exchange value. An ancient people called the Lydians are credited with producing the first coins around 600 BC. The Lydian empire was in present day Turkey on a major trade route between east and west. The coins were crude, being of irregular shape and weight, but quickly became popular with merchants and the people.

King Croesus, who ruled Lydia from 560 - 546 BC authorized the first government certified coins. This meant they were guaranteed to contain a standard weight and purity of metal. This was a major step for coins aining universal acceptance for payment of goods and services.

Coin production in ancient times was laborious and time consuming. Coins were produced by hammering gold, silver, copper, or other precious metal discs, called blanks, with a bronze or iron die.

Coin design among early minters was rough and unattractive. Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia from 336 - 323 BC began the practice of putting important persons or gods on coinage. Alexander's coins at first featured Greek gods and heroes. Later, he included monarchs - chiefly himself - on the coinage. Most of the basic elements of modern coin design were develeped during this early period in history.

Italian craftsmen working in the late 1400's created the first main improvements in coin production. They produced more modern equipment which increased production capacity, quality, and beauty in design. More improvements to the minting process came during the Industrial Revolution of the late 1800 - 1900's.

Modern US nickles, quarters, dimes, half dollars, and dollars are produced from rolls of metal which are first fed through a machine called a blanking press which cuts discs from the metal which are the proper diameter. The blanks are then washed, heated, and edges rolled to produce the rim. The blanks are then fed through a striking press giving the coin its final design. Pennies are minted from pre-punched blanks purchased by the Mint.

The first coins produced in America were minted by a gentleman named John Hull in the Massachusetts Bay colony in 1616. He was granted authority to mint coins by the General Court of the colony to help relieve a general shortage of coinage.

Before this, wampum, an Indian form of money formed from mussel shells, beaver pelts, and other commodities as well as an assortment of coinage from Spain, France, and other countries had served as money. England continously ignored the colonies pleas for coinage, so the colonies utilized their own coinage, and coinage from other countries.

The Spanish Dollar and its fractional parts circulated freely here. It was officially sanctioned by various American state and national governments until 1857. A real (pronounced ree-al) was equivalent to 12 1/2 cents. Two reals equaled a quarter dollar, giving us the expression "two bits".

Because the Spanish Dollar circulated so freely here, and not English coinage, the first American goverment made the dollar the basis of money, instead of the pound. Thomas Jefferson, a member of the House Of Representatives, in 1784 advocated the use of the dollar, and a decimal system of fractional parts. This was eventually adopted by the Continental Congress.

The first mint building wasn't built until 1792 in Philadelphia Pennslyvania. The first coin struck was a coin called a half disme. These were silver pieces, equal in value to the nickel, a later introduction.
Later mints were established at Denver, San Francisco, New Orleans, and Carson City. Currently, the Department of the Treasury operates mints at Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco.

The coin is defined by the Encylopedia Britannica as being a piece of metal or, rarely, of some other material (such as leather or porcelain) certified by a mark or marks upon it as being of a specific intrinsic or exchange value. An ancient people called the Lydians are credited with producing the first coins around 600 BC. The Lydian empire was in present day Turkey on a major trade route between east and west. The coins were crude, being of irregular shape and weight, but quickly became popular with merchants and the people.

King Croesus, who ruled Lydia from 560 - 546 BC authorized the first government certified coins. This meant they were guaranteed to contain a standard weight and purity of metal. This was a major step for coins aining universal acceptance for payment of goods and services.

Coin production in ancient times was laborious and time consuming. Coins were produced by hammering gold, silver, copper, or other precious metal discs, called blanks, with a bronze or iron die.

Coin design among early minters was rough and unattractive. Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia from 336 - 323 BC began the practice of putting important persons or gods on coinage. Alexander's coins at first featured Greek gods and heroes. Later, he included monarchs - chiefly himself - on the coinage. Most of the basic elements of modern coin design were develeped during this early period in history.

Italian craftsmen working in the late 1400's created the first main improvements in coin production. They produced more modern equipment which increased production capacity, quality, and beauty in design. More improvements to the minting process came during the Industrial Revolution of the late 1800 - 1900's.

Modern US nickles, quarters, dimes, half dollars, and dollars are produced from rolls of metal which are first fed through a machine called a blanking press which cuts discs from the metal which are the proper diameter. The blanks are then washed, heated, and edges rolled to produce the rim. The blanks are then fed through a striking press giving the coin its final design. Pennies are minted from pre-punched blanks purchased by the Mint.

The first coins produced in America were minted by a gentleman named John Hull in the Massachusetts Bay colony in 1616. He was granted authority to mint coins by the General Court of the colony to help relieve a general shortage of coinage.

Before this, wampum, an Indian form of money formed from mussel shells, beaver pelts, and other commodities as well as an assortment of coinage from Spain, France, and other countries had served as money. England continously ignored the colonies pleas for coinage, so the colonies utilized their own coinage, and coinage from other countries.

The Spanish Dollar and its fractional parts circulated freely here. It was officially sanctioned by various American state and national governments until 1857. A real (pronounced ree-al) was equivalent to 12 1/2 cents. Two reals equaled a quarter dollar, giving us the expression "two bits".

Because the Spanish Dollar circulated so freely here, and not English coinage, the first American goverment made the dollar the basis of money, instead of the pound. Thomas Jefferson, a member of the House Of Representatives, in 1784 advocated the use of the dollar, and a decimal system of fractional parts. This was eventually adopted by the Continental Congress.

The first mint building wasn't built until 1792 in Philadelphia Pennslyvania. The first coin struck was a coin called a half disme. These were silver pieces, equal in value to the nickel, a later introduction.
Later mints were established at Denver, San Francisco, New Orleans, and Carson City. Currently, the Department of the Treasury operates mints at Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco

A Brief History of The Game Of Chess

2011-12-15T06:24:00.000-08:00

A Brief History of The Game Of Chess

An unchanging trait humans have is their desire to devise games to amuse themselves, foster competition, and have fun. This article will entertain a brief discussion on the history and rules of the game.Board games have become very popular and have been with us for a long time. Evidence for these types of games has been found as far back as 1600 B.C. Modern forms of various board games began to emerge about 600 AD in Persia - now Iran. These ancient games gradually evolved into the modern games of chess, Parcheesi, backgammon, and others.

Chess is considered by many to be the king of board games. No one knows the exact origin of the game. It is thought to be descended from an Indian game called Chaturanga. The word is Indian and refers to the four arms of an Indian army - elephants, cavalry, infantry, and chariots. It emerged in India sometime around 600 AD. It quickly became popular and acquired most of the rules of the modern game. Its popularity spread by trade routes into the rest of the near East, and eventually to China.

The Arabs became acquainted with the game through their Eastern conquests. Using their vast empires as a conduit, they spread the newly popular game throughout Asia Minor. Europeans learned the game through Arab contact sometime in the tenth century.

Chess was a lot slower paced at this time. During the fifteenth century Europeans began revising the rules and replacing some of the pieces with new ones. The revisions quickened the play by giving certain key pieces new powers and moves. These alterations gained almost universal acceptance by the 1500's. The new rules also increased the popularity of the game, which caused the formation of national chess associations. These associations began to sponsor chess tournaments, beginning in Russia and Germany. The tournaments produced national chess masters, which led, in turn, to international tournaments. A German - Adolph Anderssen - was the first international chess champion winning the tournament in London, England in 1851.

Many nations have dominated the game over the years. Early in the tournament history the game was dominated by the Italians. Then the French became masters. By the early 20th Century Russia began to dominate. By the late 20th century Russia and the United States became rivals for chess champions, although the Russians are still dominant at the game.

A Brief History Of The Castle

2011-12-14T12:34:00.000-08:00

A Brief History Of The Castle

The cities of Rome were walled to provide for their defense and this is the origin of the first castles. These were usually constructed of wood, on top of a mound, or motte. A ditch was usually dug around the structure to make approach more difficult.

As the art of warfare developed, the castle needed to be made more complex to make it harder to capture. Multiple walls were constructed, one inside another, the area between the walls being called a bailey.

The history of the castle continues with its still further development of large towering structure in the center of the castle called the keep by the Normans. This was the last defensive position within the castle and featured thick masonry walls and small defensive window to allow archers and other defensive measures. The keep would also contain living quarters for the castle dwellers, a well for water, and stores of food and weapons. Keeps were first constructed as rectangular structures, later they were made round because that shape is easier to defend.

At about this time the moat replaced the ditch as the outside defense of the castle. The moat was wider and deeper, and preferably filled with water. It was crossed by a drawbridge which could be raised and lowered at will.

By the 1200’s the final evolution of the history of the castle occurred as they became increasingly complex. The keep was made smaller and stronger. The apartments were moved out of the keep and into larger structures located in the bailey.

The early sixteenth century saw the invention of gunpowder and the development of cannon, missiles, and guns. The history of the castle as a military tool came to an end, as they were no longer impregnable to these modern weapons.

A Brief History Of Candle Making

2011-12-13T16:12:00.000-08:00

A Brief History Of Candle Making

Flip a switch and turn on a light! If there is one thing about modern life we really take for granted, it is indoor electric lighting. Imagine, if you will, a home in the Middle Ages. It is night, and the day’s hard work is done. A single candle lights the interior of the room. This candle provides light for the family’s night time activities. It occupies a distinguished position in human history. The candle is one of mankind’s earliest inventions. The history of candle making is a long and interesting story.

The candle uses wax as fuel to produce light. Once the wick of a candle is lighted, heat from the flame burns the wax, which flows into the wick by capillary action. It’s a simple device, and it ruled the night for thousands of years.

Archeological digs have unearthed candlesticks in Egyptian and Cretan sites dating to about 3000 BC. Before this the Egyptians used a device called a rush light. A rush light was made from the pithy core of the rush plant, which was soaked in tallow and burned for light.

Tallow was the main ingredient of candles for thousands of years. Tallow is processed from the fat of cattle and sheep. These candles emit a very disagreeable odor and a lot of smoke when burned. They were used to light homes, temples, and meeting places. Travelers used them to light their way.

It is the Romans who probably learned how to make candles from beeswax. Beeswax is superior to tallow because it burns much cleaner, and is odorless. But it was also very expensive, so its use was limited to the nobility and the Church.

American Colonial women discovered that a superior wax could be extracted from the bayberry. This wax was very clean burning and produced a sweet aroma. The difficulty in extracting the wax from the berry prevented it from replacing the more readily available tallow.

Whales have the bad fortune to have a substance called spermaceti in their enormous bodies. Spermaceti produces a very high quality wax which makes candles superior to both tallow and beeswax. Since it is harder than these other waxes, the candles don’t bend in hot weather, a common problem for tallow and beeswax candles. By the 1700’s the whaling industry was supplying this highly valued substance for use.

Candle making has always been a labor intensive business. Wax has to be melted and hand poured into molds. Taper candles, the earliest candles made, must be dipped many times to make a candle. Molded candle production became a lot easier in 1834 because of a gentleman by the name of Joseph Morgan. Mr. Morgan invented a candle molding machine. This machine consisted of a mold which had a moveable cylinder for its bottom. Wax was poured into the mold and allowed to cool. The cylinder bottom was then moved up, forcing the hardened wax candles out of the top. Continuous production
of candles was now possible.

The best material for making candles was developed near the end of the candles long reign. Automobiles were becoming popular in the late 1800’s, and the need for petroleum to fuel the new internal combustion engine became great. The leftover residues of petroleum production produced a substance called paraffin. It was ideal for the production of candles, as it was economical, clean burning, and odorless. It’s chief drawback was its low melting point, which would have caused problems in warm weather. The independent discovery of stearic acid solved this problem. Added to paraffin, it hardened the candle, and slowed its burn rate. Paraffin/stearine candles soon became standard, totally replacing the tallow candle.

Thomas Edison’s creation of the light bulb in 1879 ended our dependency on the candle as a light source. The candle soon passed from necessity to ornamental. Candles are still used as ceremonial and decorative lights. Skilled crafts people still make candles to light and perfume our homes.

Candle making has been an essential craft in our history and the art of making candles is still very important.

History of the Biplane

2011-12-12T11:38:00.001-08:00

History of the Biplane

A short history of the Biplane Biplanes were the first airplanes to fly, the Wright Flyer was a biplane called a Canard. The double wings have the advantage of providing more lift than a single wing airplane. The wings were held apart by struts and cables were used to pull the two wings tight to the struts. But the two wings and all those cables also increased drag which tended to limit the speed and maneuverability of this type of craft.

The biplane was used extensively during World War 1. Larger three and four wing craft were built mostly to be used as bombers. But the development of better wing structures caused single wing aircraft to become the dominant type of airplane in the 1930's.

The first type of biplanes were called "pusher biplanes" because the motor was mounted behind the wing and the prop pushed the airplane along. The original Wright Flyer was such a craft. Just before World War I "tractor biplanes", or planes in which the motor was mounted at the front of the craft were developed.

These biplanes engaged in the first aerial dogfights in aviation warfare and produced the first legendary pilots. Now the biplane is seen mostly at airshows, though it still sees service as crop dusters and recreational aircraft. The sight of one of these historic airplanes in the sky is always a welcome sight.

History of beer and beer makin

2011-12-09T06:36:00.000-08:00

History of beer and beer making

The brewing of beer is an ancient craft, believed by many archeologists to be over 10,000 years old. The first domesticated grains were wheat and barley, with archeological evidence of these crops first being grown in Mesopotamia around 7000 BC. Beer making, as it depends primarily on these grains, surely made its entrance to human history shortly after the domestication of these important food crops. The first beer could have been accidentally produced. Stored grain, becoming wet, could have fermented naturally, producing beer. And the resulting brew undoubtedly both smelled and looked good to someone, who tasted it, and experienced the first hangover in history.

Egyptian tomb hieroglyphics contain scenes of beer making from as early as 2400 BC. The Egyptians used barley cakes, made by partly germinating the grain, crushing and mixing it with water and drying it in the sun. The extract from these dried cakes was fermented by natural means in fermenting vessels, producing a type of beer.
The first beer making process was very simple, given the limited technology of the time. The grains would have been fermented only a short time and this beer would not have been carbonated.

Since beer was a popular beverage among our ancestors, techniques improved over time. The basic principles of brewing were developed in the Middle East and gradually spread to Europe. In the first Century BC Roman Pliny reported that the north Europeans – the Saxons, Celts, and Nordic and Germanic tribes drank ale. Indeed, many of the brewing terms used today are of Germanic origin. And the history of beer in Europe was largely written by these hardy folk.

Beer making was kept alive as a craft by monasteries during the Middle Ages. By now techniques had improved further. Nettles were used to flavor the beer, giving it a tart flavor and aroma. The grain was heated over open wood fires. This resulted in the final product having a very dark color, and smoky taste.

Germans started using hops, a relative of the nettle, to flavor beer around 1300. Hops were imported into England, but met with much resistance. Acceptance in England was slow among many, and as late as 1512 a churchman forbade the use of the “wicked pernicious weed, hops” in the brewing of ale.

Brewing in these early times was a family chore. Throughout the middle ages, and before, part of the tax paid by serfs was a quantity of beer, or ale, paid to the lord of the manor. Gradually this changed. In villages, a family would emerge as having a superior beer recipe. Neighbors would purchase beer from them, rather than indulge in the laborious process themselves. In this way alehouses were born, the brewers selling their beer to fellow villagers and travelers passing through. There developed literally thousands of different types of beer, each alehouse producing its own distinctive brew.

Scientific instruments did not exist during these early days to control the quality of the brew. By the fourteenth century an official post was created in many town – the al-conner, or ale taster. His task was to taste the brew produced by an alehouse. If it didn’t meet standards, he could downgrade the beer, reducing its price. He usually wore leather breeches and sat on a wooden bench. A tankard of ale was poured on the bench, and he sat for half an hour. If the bench stuck to his breeches, he ruled that the ale contained too much sugar, not enough alcohol and was downgraded. If he could stand up unhindered, the beer was of good quality.
In England, colleges brewed their own ale. This was continued through the 14th century. After this time the practice gradually went away, by mid 18th century only four remained. Queens College in Oxford brewed continuously for 600 years, until World War II.

Until the early fifteenth century beer was made by using a top fermenting yeast. The fermenting yeast was allowed to overflow the fermenting container, or was skimmed off with a wooden paddle or spoon. The Germans around 1420 developed a bottom fermenting yeast, which produced a beer which would store for longer periods than the previous beers. As beer making was primarily a winter occupation, and the beer was stored using ice procured from lakes, rivers, and ponds during the winter, this was an important development. The German word “lagern”, meaning, “to store” caused these beers to be called “lagers”. This is the primary type of beer drank in Germany and US today. English ales are still produced using top fermenting yeast.
The nineteenth century saw a general increase in scientific study and advancement. These new technologies launched the Industrial Revolution, which touched every aspect of life, including beer making. Heated rotating bins were developed to improve drying the malt, producing a lighter, golden beer. Refrigeration enabled the brewing process to be scheduled year round, instead of seasonal production. This also allowed beer to be shipped greater distances. A direct result of this is the existence of the larger brewers today shipping their product all over the world.

Also developed during this period were two important instruments for brewing – the sachrometer and thermometer. With the thermometer the precise temperature of the beer could be determined and controlled from start to finish. The sachrometer is a glass instrument which floats in the liquid. By the level at which it floats, the graduations on the side of the instrument indicate the sugar content of a liquid. It was now easier to ascertain when a brew was finished fermenting, and the alcohol content could be determined accurately.

Most important was the research of Louis Pasteur in the 1860’s. Previous to Pasteur, it was believed that fermentation was caused by organisms created spontaneously in the fermenting brew. He proved that yeast were the creatures responsible for fermentation, and that they, along with other organisms, were present in the air to which the fermenting brew was exposed. The other organisms sometimes contaminated the fermenting brew, causing it to go bad. With this knowledge, brewers could now isolate the best yeast cultures and have more control over the brewing process.

Brewing has become very big business. During the late 1970’s the large brewers in the US bought out or forced out of business many smaller, regional breweries, resulting in less variety in beer types available. By the 1990’s, in response to consumer demand, smaller microbreweries and brewpubs began operations, producing handcrafted local brews on a smaller scale, mimicking the small alehouses of long ago.

Technology has also made brewing simpler for the home beer maker. Modern kits allow the home brewer too easily and conveniently produce their own brew in their homes, like our ancestors did many centuries ago, when home beer making was a family craft.

History of Wine Making

2011-12-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

History of Wine Making

Few things are as timeless as the pleasure of enjoying a glass of wine. Whether enjoyed with a meal, in front of a crackling fire with a special person, or at a festive party, a good wine is sure to remembered by its fragrance and flavor long after the glass is gone. The romance of wine is deeply embedded in the human psyche since it has been with us since the dawn of time. The history of wine making dates back at least 8000 years and archeologists have found evidence of the making of mead, a honey based wine, occurring around 10,000 years ago.

True wine is a product of the grape, its juice fermented and bottled with great care. There are many types of grapes in the world, but the highest quality wines are made from the European wine grape - Vitis vinefera. The balance of flavor, sugar, aroma and other intangibles necessary for good wine are best manifested in this species of grape. It is thought to have originated in the Caucasius region of Europe. This area is bounded by the Black Sea, Caspian Sea, and Causasius Mountains. This area is presently contained by the modern nations of Georgia and southern Russia. This species has been cross bred into literally hundreds of different varieties, each best suited to its own geographic region. And each variety produces its own distinct type of wine.

Viticulture is the art of growing grapes, and closely the closely related viniculture, the art of growing grapes for wine, are thousands of years old. Mesopotamia, the area of present day Iraq between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, gave us our first civilization. It is here that grapes were first cultivated and viniculture first practiced, sometime around 5000 years ago. The Code of Humarabi was earth’s first written code of law and this code contains laws governing the making and selling of wine. The Code of Hummarabi occurred in history about 4000 years ago.

We will probably never know how men first learned how to turn grapes into wine. Ancient Greek lore tells us that Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and vegetation, taught the early Greeks how to grow the grapes and make wine. The Greeks learned well and became the first recorded people in history to plant commercial vineyards and market their wine in other countries, around 3500 years ago.

Wine was a popular drink among these ancient peoples and it was also considered sacred. Wine was imbibed in many rituals and celebrations as part of the religion of the period. The Greeks were a seafaring people, and spread their culture and influence throughout the Mediterean basin. This influence included the making of wine and the Greeks planted vineyards in lands from the Black Sea in the east to Spain in the west.

Wine connoisseurs of this day would be very disappointed with the Greek wine of this period. The wine was stored in casks lined with a plant based resin substance which imparted a flavor not unlike turpentine to the wine. On top of this the Greeks flavored their wine with spices, herbs, flowers and perfumes. And the wine was always cut with water before serving.

Telescope History

2011-12-07T06:42:00.001-08:00

The nvention of the telescope revolutionized the science of astronomy. Stars were now determined to be individual suns, and some stars were.discovered in reality to be clusters of stars. Moons were discovered around the planets and ultimately more planets were discovered. There were only five planets known to the ancients - Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The first scientists using their small telescopes to gaze upon the heavens were amazed by the new sights to greet their eyes.

Before the telescope could be invented the lens had to be discovered. It is unknown who made the first one. Possibly it was discovered by a glass maker as he crafted leaded windows, some of which require glass discs. A disc which was slightly concave would create a lens and if the glassmaker accidentally looks through it he might notice improved vision. In any case, lenses were in use for eyeglasses by 1300. A type of lens was known before this as the Greeks and Romans used water filled globes as burning glasses to start fires. Solid glass lenses were unknown until the thirteenth century.

The lens is described as a clear object consisting of plastic or glass or similar hard, clear material. It can be concave, convex, or plane shaped. The lens bends, or refracts light waves. It is used in telescopes, eyeglasses, microscopes, cameras and many more optical devices. Manufacture of the lens in modern times is not notably different than the methods used in the Middle Ages when they were invented except for Isaac Newton’s development of the use of pitch for polishing the lens surface.

The telescope took another 300 years to transpire and again was probably accidentally discovered. Who invented the telescope? That question is actually open to question! Many stories are in existence about the invention of this device. The best documented case is the tale of Hans Lippershey, a Dutch spectacle maker around 1600 AD. Children drifted into his shop and were playing with the lenses and happened to notice that certain lenses used in combination made distant objects seem closer. They informed Lippershey of this, he confirmed it, and began making telescopes.

Other spectacle makers also made claims at about this same time, but Lippershey’s story seems the most likely and he may be the true telescope inventor.

At any rate, Galileo came into contact with the telescope around 1609. He began using the instrument and this turned his notion of the universe on its head. He was the first to see mountains on the lunar surface, Jupiter’s moons, sunspots, and the phases of Venus. He also was the first to conclude that the moon borrows its luminescence from the sun by reflecting its light and that the Milky Way consists of multitudes of stars. The use of the telescope also convinced him of the correctness of the Copernican sun centered solar system, for which belief he got into a great deal of trouble.

There are two types of optical telescope - reflecting and refracting. Reflecting telescopes make use of a lens/mirror system to magnify light. These typically can be made much larger than refracting telescopes can see dimmer objects, and the object viewed is seen with less distortion. Refracting telescopes use multiple lens systems to magnify. They are usually less expensive, are more portable, and are better for terrestrial viewing. The reflecting type is usually better for astronomical work.

Galileo and others of his time used small refractors which probably had a magnifying power of about 30 times.

Two types of mounting systems are used - the altizimuth and the equatorial. The equatorial mounting system is usually more expensive, but much easier to keep on track of an object in the sky because only
one adjustment must be made. The altizimuth is much cheaper, but requires more skill to track an object because two adjustments must be made to compensate for the earth’s rotation while viewing an object in the sky.

Generally for the amateur a high power telescope is not a good purchase. Since the magnification of light also tends to magnify the earth’s rotational speed in relation to the object being viewed, higher
magnifications usually make heavenly bodies hard to track because of the increase of their apparent speed across the sky. On all by very clear nights, the extra magnification also magnifies the humidity in the atmosphere, creating distorted images. Light pollution from nearby lights will also be magnified making viewing difficult.

A lower power telescope will allow the casual sky watcher to still see a lot of things. The moons of Jupiter are readily visible with a low power telescope. Much detail on the moon’s surface is visible as are
the rings of Saturn. "Stars" which appear as single entities to the naked eye will reveal themselves as star clusters with even a modest telescope. And the phases of Venus, similar to the phases of the moon, are also discernible with a small scope. The Milky Way, our galaxy, is resplendent with stars, clusters, and other beautiful sights, again all visible with a small telescope.

It is usually best to purchase a small, multipurpose refractors to start with. One with a tripod is best. This will allow some modest astronomical observations and also use as a terrestrial scope. As interest in
astronomy grows, a better, more expensive reflector scope with equatorial mount and computer tracking system may be purchased.

A Short History Of Astronomy

2011-12-06T06:34:00.000-08:00

A Short History Of Astronomy

Astronomy is a science with roots in ancient history. When humans began to discover that they could plant seeds and grow crops for a reliable food source, a need arose to accurately predict the seasons. Our ancestors noticed that the stars steered a regular course in the heavens and that the seasons could be predicted by noting the rising and setting of certain stars. The length of the year could be determined by noting when a star rose and carefully counting the days when it rose in the same place on the earth’s horizon again. Elaborate observation areas were constructed to mark certain celestial events and to keep track of them.

From this information, accurate calendars could be developed to determine the time for planting, harvesting and setting important religious festivals. Learning the positions of the stars at determined times of the year could also aid travelers in determining their location when on long journeys from their homes. This helped merchants as trade developed between peoples far away from each other.

Many ancient peoples developed astronomy to a high degree, and have left history behind in their records. The Mayans, Egyptians, Babylonians, and Chinese all developed accurate star charts and mapped the movements of the sun, moon and planets. All these civilizations came up with highly accurate calendars.

These various civilizations all kept meticulous records of their observations. Babylonians used clay tablets, dried in the sun to record and perform fairly complex mathematical equations to predict planet, star, lunar, and solar movements with a high degree of accuracy. Literally hundreds of these stone tablets have been unearthed and studied by archeologists. Egyptian records were written on papyrus and carved in stone. Most Mayan records were destroyed by Spanish conquistadores when they over ran the Mayan cities. Many Chinese records are also still in existence.

Astrology played a part in ancient astronomy. This was, and still is for many, the belief that the movements of the stars and planets influenced events on earth, and the lives of the men and women who lived here. This was a logical extrapolation, as it was believed that the stars influenced the events on earth that they predicted, such as the seasons. Astrology’s contribution to science comes in the form of the mathematics devised to plot the movements of celestial bodies to develop predictions based on those movements.

Ancient astronomers formulated many different theories explaining the movements of the earth, sun and planets. Some believed in the geocentric theory in which the earth was motionless, the sun, planets and stars revolving around it. This theory required elaborate corrections and schemes to make it fit what was observed in the sky.

Others, Greek astronomer Aristarchus of Samos chief among them, believed in a heliocentric system, the sun being at the center and the earth and planets revolving around it.

The geocentric became the predominant theory until the sixteenth century when Nicolaus Copernicus proved the old theory wrong.

The accomplishments of the ancient astronomers were many and they laid the basis for much of what we know now. This was all accomplished with naked eye observations and very rudimentary equipment. Modern astronomers work exclusively with giant telescopes, radio arrays, satellites, computers and other equipment. Very rarely does an astronomer actually look at the starry cosmos gazed at so earnestly by their processors of old.

Early Radio And Crystal Radio History - Invention

2011-12-05T06:40:00.000-08:00

Early Radio And Crystal Radio History - Invention

You probably listen to one every day. In the car, at work, and in your home. You depend on it to hear the latest news and weather reports. It brings you music, sports, and talk programs. The following is a brief history of the invention of the early radio and the crystal radio.

History tell us that Italian inventor Marchese Guglielmo Marconi was the inventor of the radio. Using devices he designed, the first radio broadcasts took place in 1895 and 1896. These early radio transmissions had a range of only one mile, and consisted of telegraph transmissions. He soon improved the apparatus to send and receive over much longer distances. By 1901 he was able to send and receive Transatlantic telegraphic messages. The first use of this new technology was by the Italian and British navies, as ship to ship and ship to shore communications. By 1902 radio communication across the Atlantic was made available for public use.

This early radio was called radio telegraphy, and consisted of Morse code signals. It was a significant advance because it allowed instant communication between two distant points on the earth's surface for the first time. It's entertainment value was limited, however, because of it's limitation to telegraph signals. Voice radio transmission, or radio telephony, was a more complex problem.

Many people contributed to solving this puzzle, each one placing a piece in position. German physicist Heinrich Rudolph Hertz contributed work with condensers producing microwaves in 1901. The detection of the ionosphere by American Arthur Edwin Kenelly and British Oliver Heaviside in 1901 had important implications for the long range transmission of radio waves over the earth's surface. The ionosphere, a part of the earth's outer atmosphere, reflects radio waves back to the earth's surface when their tendency is to shoot straight up toward's outer space. John Ambrose Fleming built on
Thomas Edison's incandescent lamp by developing the Fleming Tube. This tube was indispensable in the development of radio telephony.

In 1912, it was discovered that crystals could be used to detect radio transmissions. This discovery paved the way for the popular crystal radio sets built and used by many in the 1920's. Simple and cheap to build, the crystal sets helped popularize radio, and introduced many to it's rich entertainment. Battery radios were also introduced in the 1920's. These radios needed frequent battery changes, or recharging.

By the 1930's, better radios using household current were introduced. Some of these radios were housed in handsome cabinets that are still prized by collectors today.

In these early days of radio, it was an important link to the world for many isolated communities . Popular radio shows like Buck Rogers, Amos and Andy, and Fibber McGee and Molly became standards of American entertainment as whole families gathered around the radio for an evening of entertainment. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the first major American politician to effectively use radio with his "Fireside Chats" during the Depression in the 1930's.

Although television has largely taken the place of radio as the primary family entertainment medium, radio is still important. Radio provides us with a vast selection of music, news, sports, and talk formats from which to choose. Radio and electronics are an important part of our daily lives.

History of Electricity

2009-12-28T12:26:00.000-08:00

History of Electricity

The history of electricity is an interesting study. The invention of electricity was a pivotal event in our history. This article contains many electricity facts to help you learn the history of this important power source.

The first power source humans learned to use was fire. Acquiring the use of fire changed the way humans lived completely, allowing more control their environment by providing heat and light. We discovered how to cook our food, killing many parasites in it which plagued us previously. Learning to control fire was an important advance in our civilization.

tHarnessing the power of the electron was the next most important step in our evolution. No other power source has so changed the life of the ordinary human, except perhaps the internal combustion engine, and even this needs electricity to operate.

Electricity heats our water, cooks our food, washes our dishes and clothing, and heats our homes. It also powers our industries, computers, toys, and virtually every modern convenience we possess.

The first steps to harnessing this revolutionary power source were taken in 1745 by a gentleman named Pieter van Musschenbroek. His invention of the Leydon Jar provided the first device which allowed scientists to store electricity and allow them to study it. It was used for public electrical demonstrations such as the popular one which involved lining people up and having them hold hands. The first one in the chain took hold of the lead from a Leyden Jar. The current passes through all the people in the chain, shocking only the last unfortunate in the chain. Fun for all except to poor unsuspecting victim in
the rear.

Benjamin Franklin, one of the signers of the American Declaration Of Independence, realized the potential of this power source. He felt strongly enough, that he sold off all his business interests - his print shop, Poor Richard's Almanac, and his newspaper so he could have time to study it. Flying a kite in a thunderstorm wasn't just a foolish stunt. The kite was silk, the kite line was wet. The kite attracted a lightning strike, and the current flowed along the wet twine to a key tied on the end. This charged a Leyden Jar, storing the electricity Franklin needed for his experiments.

Franklin did important work in this field. He was the first to prove that lightning was electrical in nature, and his theories and experiments dominated the developing science of electricity for more than a century.

In 1780 Luigi Galvani discovered that two metals placed in contact with the muscle of a frog would generate electrical current. Galvani's friend, Alessandro Volta, an Italian physicist, was inspired by this to begin his own experiments. Beginning in 1794, he soon found that the metals alone would work. From this work, in 1800, he developed the first electric battery. This provided scientists with the first dependable, continuous electric current to work with. The battery generated electricity by chemical reaction, the Leydon jar needed to be charged with static or other electricity.

Hans Christian Ørsted's discovery in 1820 that a magnetic field was generated as it flowed through a wire and the further discovery by André-Marie Ampère that the field apparently was a circular one, producing in effect a cylinder of magnetism around the wire.

Michael Faraday used the findings of Ørsted and Ampère to further our knowledge of electricity. 1831 saw him build the first electric generator, and later the modern electric motor by reversing the current through the generator.

The work of these three men, and many other scientists working in the 18th and 19th centuries laid groundwork for much of Edison's work in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Edison's light bulb and other inventions, Marconi's telegraph, and Bell's telephone were all dependent upon the emerging science of electronics, and all have revolutionized the way we live.