Francesco Lana de Terzi
Encyclopedia
Francesco Lana de Terzi (Brescia
, Lombardy
1631 – 22 February 1687 Brescia
, Lombardy
) was an Italian Jesuit
, mathematician, naturalist and aeronautics
pioneer
. Having been professor of physics and mathematics at Brescia
, he first sketched the concept for a vacuum airship
and has been referred to as the Father of Aeronautics for his pioneering efforts, turning the aeronautics
field into a science by establishing "a theory of aerial navigation verified by mathematical accuracy". He also developed the idea that developed into Braille
.
with the Magdeburg hemispheres
, in the year 1663 Lana de Terzi had developed an idea for a lighter than air
vessel.
His airship design - while never having been built - had a central mast, to which a sail was attached. The airship would be steered like a sailboat. Its design called for four masts which had copper spheres attached. The spheres would be made of very thin copper foil, and each sphere would have a diameter of 7.5 meters (about 24.5 feet). Terzi had calculated that the weight of a sphere would be 180 kilograms (396 lb). He also calculated that the air in the sphere would weigh 290 kilograms (638 lb). The copper spheres would be pumped to vacuum
conditions, and thus being lighter than the surrounding air, would provide enough lift for 6 passengers to ride along in the airship.
At the time no one possessed the ability to manufacture such thin copper foil, besides, the pressure of the surrounding air would have flattened the spheres. Its idea was never practically tested. In addition, Francesco Lana de Terzi was conscious that one could use such a vehicle as a weapon of war and attack cities from air. He wrote: “God will never allow that such a machine be built…because everybody realises that no city would be safe from raids… iron weights, fireballs and bombs could be hurdled from a great height".
The fact that such an airship with vacuum spheres was physically not possible wasn't proven until 1710 by Gottfried William Leibniz
, and to this day such a vessel hasn't been built. Although Leibniz's conclusion was made with materials known at the time, the discovery of graphene
and recent advances in its production may render this conclusion obsolete. A model of Lana de Terzi's invention is on display at the Smithsonian
National Air and Space Museum
in Washington, D.C.
.
Brescia
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
, Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
1631 – 22 February 1687 Brescia
Brescia
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
, Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
) was an Italian Jesuit
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
, mathematician, naturalist and aeronautics
Aeronautics
Aeronautics is the science involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of airflight-capable machines, or the techniques of operating aircraft and rocketry within the atmosphere...
pioneer
Innovator
An innovator in a general sense, is a person or an organization who is one of the first to introduce into reality something better than before. That often opens up a new area for others and achieves an innovation.-History:...
. Having been professor of physics and mathematics at Brescia
Brescia
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
, he first sketched the concept for a vacuum airship
Vacuum airship
A vacuum airship, also known as a vacuum balloon, is a hypothetical airship that is evacuated rather than filled with a lighter than air gas such as hydrogen or helium...
and has been referred to as the Father of Aeronautics for his pioneering efforts, turning the aeronautics
Aeronautics
Aeronautics is the science involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of airflight-capable machines, or the techniques of operating aircraft and rocketry within the atmosphere...
field into a science by establishing "a theory of aerial navigation verified by mathematical accuracy". He also developed the idea that developed into Braille
Braille
The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...
.
Airship design
In the year 1670 Francesco Lana de Terzi published a book titled Prodomo, including a chapter entitled saggio di alcune invenzioni nuove premesso all'arte maestra (“To test some premised new inventions of the master artist”) which contained the description of a “flying ship”. Encouraged by the experiments of Otto von GuerickeOtto von Guericke
Otto von Guericke was a German scientist, inventor, and politician...
with the Magdeburg hemispheres
Magdeburg hemispheres
The Magdeburg hemispheres are a pair of large copper hemispheres with mating rims. When the rims were sealed with grease and the air was pumped out, the sphere contained a vacuum and could not be pulled apart by teams of horses...
, in the year 1663 Lana de Terzi had developed an idea for a lighter than air
Lighter than air
Lighter than air refers to gases that are buoyant in air because they have densities lower than that of air .Some of these gases are used as lifting gases in lighter-than-air aircraft, which include free balloons, moored balloons, and airships, to make the whole craft, on average, lighter than air...
vessel.
His airship design - while never having been built - had a central mast, to which a sail was attached. The airship would be steered like a sailboat. Its design called for four masts which had copper spheres attached. The spheres would be made of very thin copper foil, and each sphere would have a diameter of 7.5 meters (about 24.5 feet). Terzi had calculated that the weight of a sphere would be 180 kilograms (396 lb). He also calculated that the air in the sphere would weigh 290 kilograms (638 lb). The copper spheres would be pumped to vacuum
Vacuum
In everyday usage, vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty". A perfect vacuum would be one with no particles in it at all, which is impossible to achieve in...
conditions, and thus being lighter than the surrounding air, would provide enough lift for 6 passengers to ride along in the airship.
At the time no one possessed the ability to manufacture such thin copper foil, besides, the pressure of the surrounding air would have flattened the spheres. Its idea was never practically tested. In addition, Francesco Lana de Terzi was conscious that one could use such a vehicle as a weapon of war and attack cities from air. He wrote: “God will never allow that such a machine be built…because everybody realises that no city would be safe from raids… iron weights, fireballs and bombs could be hurdled from a great height".
The fact that such an airship with vacuum spheres was physically not possible wasn't proven until 1710 by Gottfried William Leibniz
Gottfried Leibniz
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German philosopher and mathematician. He wrote in different languages, primarily in Latin , French and German ....
, and to this day such a vessel hasn't been built. Although Leibniz's conclusion was made with materials known at the time, the discovery of graphene
Graphene
Graphene is an allotrope of carbon, whose structure is one-atom-thick planar sheets of sp2-bonded carbon atoms that are densely packed in a honeycomb crystal lattice. The term graphene was coined as a combination of graphite and the suffix -ene by Hanns-Peter Boehm, who described single-layer...
and recent advances in its production may render this conclusion obsolete. A model of Lana de Terzi's invention is on display at the Smithsonian
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
National Air and Space Museum
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.
External links
- illustration of Francesco Lana de Terzi's airship
- Biography in the Catholic EncyclopediaCatholic EncyclopediaThe Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...
