Page 2 - Demo

Sky lanterns, also called K%u00f4ngm%u00edng lanterns after an early Chinese general, are the oldest devices considered to be hot-air balloons. Made of paper, they typically get their lift from a small candle which generates the less-dense, heated air that causes them to rise. Some were used as early as the fourth century BCfor military signaling. They eventually became an integral part of ceremonies in many parts of the world, even though they pose a fire hazard if they land while the flame is still burning. In Thailand, the Loi Krathong festival is celebrated annually throughout the Kingdom with illuminated lanterns and baskets launched into the air and onto the water. Some can be quite large, and because of their potential fire hazard, they have been banned in several countries. They are illegal in at least 29 U.S. states, including Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, but not in Michigan or Kentucky.From this humble beginning, came much larger balloons of differing designs. They have carried people aloft for a variety of reasons, ranging from recreational to technical, and serious exploration to daredevilry. During their earliest decades, the art and skill required to operate a large balloon (an aerostat) was called aerostation. In that period, a roster of imaginative and brave aeronauts advanced the knowledge and skill of ballooning. Following are just a few.In 1709, Bartolomeu de Gusm%u00e3o, a priest, presented a drawing of a fanciful airship to King Jo%u00e3o V of Portugal. The unusual contrivance had a large sail over a boatlike body which contained tubes meant for air to flow through. Somehow, it was to be propelled by magnets. While he proposed a test flight for June 24, it never happened, likely because it was never built. Instead, on August 8, he caused a rudimentary balloon to rise upward while inside the hall of the Casa da India in Lisbon, proving his assertion that he could create a floating device. While the details are sketchy, the king, who was in attendance, was so impressed, he made Bartolomeu a professor at the university