文档介绍：British Airships: Past, Present and Future
British Airships: Past,
Present and Future
e Whale
1
British Airships: Past, Present and Future
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Lighter-than-air craft consist of three distinct types: Airships, which
are by far the most important, Free Balloons, and Kite Balloons, which are
attached to the ground or to a ship by a cable. They derive their
appellation from the fact that when charged with hydrogen, or some other
form of gas, they are lighter than the air which they displace. Of these
three types the free balloon is by far the oldest and the simplest, but it is
entirely at the mercy of the wind and other elements, and cannot be
controlled for direction, but must drift whithersoever the wind or air
currents take it. On the other hand, the airship, being provided with
engines to propel it through the air, and with rudders and elevators to
control it for direction and height, can be steered in whatever direction is
desired, and voyages can be made from one place to another--always
provided that the force of the wind is not sufficiently strong to e
the power of the engines. The airship is, therefore, nothing else than a
dirigible balloon, for the engines and other weights connected with the
structure are supported in the air by an envelope or balloon, or a series of
such chambers, according to design, filled with hydrogen or gas of some
other nature.
It is not proposed, in this book, to embark upon a lengthy and highly
technical dissertation on aerostatics, although it is an intricate science
which must be thoroughly grasped by anyone who wishes to possess a full
knowledge of airships and the various problems which occur in their
design. Certain technical expressions and terms are, however, bound to
occur, even in the most rudimentary work on airships, and the main
principles underlying airship construction will be described as briefly and
as simply as is possible.
The term "lift" will appear many