Re:Why wasn't the steam engine invented earlier? Part II
by eesmith on Friday July 15, 2022 @08:10AM
(#32107266)
> who had no connection or communication with or little knowledge of one another
There was a large enthusiastic group of people working on heavier-than-air flight, with with meetings and newspaper publications. The Spectator has an article titled "Flying Motor-Cars" at https://archive.org/details/sim_spectator-uk_1901-08-31_87_3... which comments:
] The mechanical skill of the world, which is very great, greater perhaps than its originality in scientific investigation, is directing itself for the moment to two definite ends, — the construction of an efficient submarine boat, and the invention of a machine that can travel with at least two persons on board through the air.
That the Wright Brothers didn't know Pearse is besides the point - both drew from shared materials, and a lot of people were trying. Here's a couple of reports from the New York Times:
"TO FLY FROM PIKE'S PEAK.; W.F. Felts Tries His New Aeroplane at Different Altitudes. [Aug. 4, 1897] (followed soon by SNOWSTORM ON PIKE'S PEAK.; W. B. Felts Did Not Attempt His Aeroplane Flight Yesterday.)"
Or "EXPECTS TO BE ABLE TO FLY.; Prof. Bell Believes He Has Mastered the Two Great Difficulties of Aerial Navigation.". That's Alexander Graham Bell.
Your [4] even mentions 'The Wright brothers acknowledged [Cayley's] importance to the development of aviation'.
> here in the US we ethnocentrically recite the Kitty Hawk event of the Wright Brothers as if it appeared in a vacuum out of nowhere
] In 1896, when he was twenty-five years old, Orville was very sick with typhoid fever and almost died. Wilbur and Katharine cared for him. Wilbur read while sitting with Orville. He read about Otto Lilienthal, who was trying to fly. Lilienthal built gliders and had flown farther than anyone else in the world. But Otto Lilienthal had a gliding accident and died. The Wright brothers were saddened by this news because they admired Mr. Lilienthal and his attempts to fly.
] ... In England, France, the United States, and other countries, people were trying to unlock the mystery of flight.
] ... Wilbur learned all he could about flying. He took every book about it out of the Dayton library. Samuel Langley the head of the Smithsonian Institution, was trying to learn how to fly Wilbur decided to write the Smithsonian. A man there sent Wilbur information.
] The famous engineer Octave Chanute was also experimenting with gliders. Wilbur wrote him, too. Mr. Chanute quickly became a friend of the Wright brothers.
There was a large enthusiastic group of people working on heavier-than-air flight, with with meetings and newspaper publications. The Spectator has an article titled "Flying Motor-Cars" at https://archive.org/details/sim_spectator-uk_1901-08-31_87_3... which comments:
] The mechanical skill of the world, which is very great, greater perhaps than its originality in scientific investigation, is directing itself for the moment to two definite ends, — the construction of an efficient submarine boat, and the invention of a machine that can travel with at least two persons on board through the air.
That the Wright Brothers didn't know Pearse is besides the point - both drew from shared materials, and a lot of people were trying. Here's a couple of reports from the New York Times:
"TO FLY FROM PIKE'S PEAK.; W.F. Felts Tries His New Aeroplane at Different Altitudes. [Aug. 4, 1897] (followed soon by SNOWSTORM ON PIKE'S PEAK.; W. B. Felts Did Not Attempt His Aeroplane Flight Yesterday.)"
Or "EXPECTS TO BE ABLE TO FLY.; Prof. Bell Believes He Has Mastered the Two Great Difficulties of Aerial Navigation.". That's Alexander Graham Bell.
Your [4] even mentions 'The Wright brothers acknowledged [Cayley's] importance to the development of aviation'.
> here in the US we ethnocentrically recite the Kitty Hawk event of the Wright Brothers as if it appeared in a vacuum out of nowhere
Where do you get that impression?
Here's a children's book from the US about the Wright Brothers. https://archive.org/details/letsflywilburorv00roop/page/36/m...
] In 1896, when he was twenty-five years old, Orville was very sick with typhoid fever and almost died. Wilbur and Katharine cared for him. Wilbur read while sitting with Orville. He read about Otto Lilienthal, who was trying to fly. Lilienthal built gliders and had flown farther than anyone else in the world. But Otto Lilienthal had a gliding accident and died. The Wright brothers were saddened by this news because they admired Mr. Lilienthal and his attempts to fly.
] ... In England, France, the United States, and other countries, people were trying to unlock the mystery of flight.
] ... Wilbur learned all he could about flying. He took every book about it out of the Dayton library. Samuel Langley the head of the Smithsonian Institution, was trying to learn how to fly Wilbur decided to write the Smithsonian. A man there sent Wilbur information.
] The famous engineer Octave Chanute was also experimenting with gliders. Wilbur wrote him, too. Mr. Chanute quickly became a friend of the Wright brothers.
Hardly a vacuum!