Hot Air Balloon Book: Build and Launch Kongming Lanterns, Solar Tetroons, and More
Introduction How to Use This Book Each project chapter in this book is split into two parts The first part covers the design and science of the balloon The second part contains the instruc tions for building You can build the balloons in any order you like all of the instructions for a particular design should be contained within its own chapter Start with an easy one though either the Basic Trash Bag Balloon page 41 or the Kongming Lantern page 71 If you run into problems building these balloons or if you cannot find the right materials see the trou bleshooting tips in chapter 11 page 211 I have tried to gather all of the fixes and advice there Safety Note All building and launching should be done under adult supervision Many of the projects contain steps that use heat or sharp tools If you have not used a partic ular tool before ask someone to show you how to handle it safely Wear appropriate safety
especially heatproof gloves and safety glasses when handling containers of hot wax Store your hot sol dering iron in a proper stand when welding sheet plastic don't just lay it down Read through the whole of chapter 2 before you launch your first balloon Follow the safety advice and remember that safety is your responsibility If you do not follow instructions and warnings the balloons in this book can cause injuries or damage The author and publisher accept no responsibility for damage or loss caused by anyone following the projects in this
Balloon History Where Does the Balloon Come From Historians know that the first human carrying bal loon was designed and built by the Montgolfier brothers in France and it flew for the first time in 1783 But the balloon was not a completely new idea and it is very hard to find out who first thought of lifting things with a bag full of gas In fact there are a surprising number of different countries that claim to be the home of the inventor of the balloon China The Chinese people love paper hot air balloons and there are probably more paper hot air balloons flown in China than in the rest of the world combined The most common balloon used in festivals has a small tapered envelope that has a square cross sec tion at the top that tapers to a round cross section at
the bottom It is usually called a Kongming lantern rather than a balloon because it has a small wax burner inside that produces a bright luminous flame that lights up the whole envelope like a Chinese lantern The balloon was given the name Kongming after the man who is said to have invented it D a A Kongming lantern Zhuge Liang also known as Kongming was an advisor military strategist and chancellor for the Shu Han region during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history He was famous for his wisdom intelligence and cunning He was so clever that he could always invent new and surprising ways of beat ing his enemies even when the situation looked
