The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1891-01-23
rHE Ar OF FLYING.
We May Have the Alr.ship within this
Next Decade.

1
From the earliest historic time tiyinsg
has been means of locomotion which
/ has had a strange fascination to man.
kind, says the Boston Herald. aud
I probably as early rs man found him
self able to Increase his natural power
I by adapting 10 his uses the forces OF
nature, attempts have been made TO ily
through the air. though Ia no case has
there been any conspicuous success.
1t IS. perhaps. discouraging TO give
time and attention 10 the work OF de-
veloping something upon which so
much human time. energy aud in-
genuity have been wasted. but there
is still much TO be said IN defense of
those who are seeking to devise aud
perfect flying that modern
science and invention have surrounded
their efforts with more favorable con-
ditions than have hitherto existed
The would-be inventors of nying-
machines are ALWAYS abnormallV san
guine and invariably believe that If
they had sufficient sum OF money 10
perfect their plans they could quickly
solve the problem of air navigation.
But some quite as confident rs any
who now live have had the needed
money and have wasted large amounts
of il without achieving success. SIill.
Ii should be pointed out that although
these failures are well known 10 all of
those interested in the study of aeros-
tation, the members of the aeronautic
societies of England. France. aud Ger
many, many OF them of scientific at
tainment and who have given patient
study 10 the subject of mir navigation,
are strongly of the opinion that we are
on the eve of great discoveries in this
respect and that at any time the world
may be startled by an invention which
will perhaps be more remarkable than
any which has hitherto been made; that
rs, the discovery of a means of safely,
economically. and successfully flying
through the air.
These hopes of great development
in aeronauties rest on this scientific
basis: that experience has shown that
under certain conditions the resistance
Of the air is rs great as the resistance
OF the earth, aud assuming the proper
conditions. it should be Just rs easy to
maintain body in the air or propel il
through the mir us to rest il upon the
ground. As am illustration of air
resistance. il is pointed out that ii
quantity of gunpowder. freely exposed
10 the air. is exploded upon the sur
face Of a rock, the result is merely a
bright flame and puff of smoke. the
gases generated passing OF harmlessly
into the air IN consequence ot ITS ngnt
resistance when compared with the re-
sistance of the rock. On the other
hand, when giant powder or dynamite
Is exploded under similar conditions
the rock upon which the explosion oe
ours has great assures made in il, be-
cause in this instance the resistance
offered by the air is greater than the
resistance offered BY the rock. aud the
force of the explosion is driven down
ward rather than upward.
Now, why this difference? Merely
because. in one case. that is. gun
powder. the explosion is slow pro
cess while in the other il is a uuick
one; therefore, the conclusion isdrawn
that, providing motion is sufficiently
rapid, resistance can he encountered
IN the air amply sufficient for the
mechanical work of lifting upward aud
driving forward. Assuming then the
existence of a comparatively light
body, supplied with machinery which
can drive propellers at an exceedingly
high rate of speed. aud the conditions
would seem TO be present which are
needed TO assure safe air NAVIGATION.
We have in aluminium a metal which
fully supplies the needed quality of
strength and lightness. and, with i'm
provements, there is reason to believe
that IN few years more this metal
will be quite as cheap, if not cheaper.
than copper. We have in petroleum n
concentrated fuel which may be used
to generate large amount of power
with the minimum of weight and waste.
1t is also possible that in short time
more we shall have light batteries in
which large quantities of electricity
can be stored, to be drawn upon when /
ever the force is needed
These are all possibilities of the near
future, and they, one and all, hold 0ut
he promise of enabling some one, even |
Ia TINS generation TO solve a problem |
tnat mas dehed the utmost skill of man |
In past ages. When one considers that /
the discovery and utilization of a safe /
ana economical means of air naviga- I
ton would imply the more or less |
speedy abandonment of almost all of |
our present means of land and water |
transportation, the tremendous econ /
omic and social revolution that would /
result from the discovery we have re- I
ferred to can be perhaps family i'm
agined. The successful trial of an air
ship would in twenty-four hours time |
cut down by half the value of all the
railroads and steamships in the world.
because it would afford an opportunity
of cheapening to an incredible extent
he cost of transporting both persons
and merchandise. 1t may be that this
generation will have passed away be-
lore this discovery is made; but on the
other hand it is not impossible that
his great invention will be brought
INTO public use before the close of the
present century.
What His Father Would Have Done.