From an interview with Clarke:
http://www.kinetikonpictures.com/books/texts/clark e.htm
"[later, after Clarke takes a nap]
ACC: I had a chance to think, before I went to sleep, and I had an interesting idea. You know my problem with walking around now? If you had a reasonable-sized balloon it could give you some useful lift, you see?
MB: That's true.
ACC: About a thousand cubic feet could give you about a hundred pounds of lift. That means a balloon by ten feet by ten feet by ten feet. That means a balloon that's big, but not ridiculous. So I think when we get back I'll get one of my ballooning friends to look into this.
MB: Well, what about if there's a wind?
ACC: That's exactly what I thought of too, and you'd be in trouble. And of course if I had more than a thousand cubic feet the air force would have to shoot me down! [laughs] But it would be fun to do it indoors, in an arena or something. It would be a good sport, I'm surprised it hasn't been done.
MB: Yeah, you could moon-walk! Bounce around.
ACC: Exactly. A sixth of a G [Earth gravity]. That would be nice.
MB: That's a good idea, you should immediately patent that one!
ACC: I don't think it's patentable.
MB: You could have a new sport. New sports, in fact.
ACC: I'm very fond of quoting someone who said that a patent is merely a license to be sued! [laughs]"
Helium Balloon Patent:
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PT O1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm &r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6,325,329.WKU.&OS=PN/6,325,329&RS =PN/6,325,329>
Parabounce:
http://www.parabounce.com/
You might be referring to neglegted masterpieces of Earth from space such as the following which do provide a emotional connection:
Apollo 17 view of earth from moon surface:
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a17/as17-137-20957HR.jpg
Alan Bean's 'Kissing the Earth':
http://www.alanbeangallery.com/kissing.html
Mars Global Surveyor view of earth:
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2003/05/22/
Mars Express view of Earth & moon:
http://www.esa.int/export/mex_mm/images/Erde_Mond_ PR_030707f.jpg
Cheers!
Avi
Slashdot Mirror
Tarkovsky's masterpiece has an opening sequence of a medieval balloon flight attempt! http://207.136.67.23/film/Reviews/andrei_rublev.ht m
From an interview with Clarke: http://www.kinetikonpictures.com/books/texts/clark e.htm
"[later, after Clarke takes a nap]
ACC: I had a chance to think, before I went to sleep, and I had an interesting idea. You know my problem with walking around now? If you had a reasonable-sized balloon it could give you some useful lift, you see?
MB: That's true.
ACC: About a thousand cubic feet could give you about a hundred pounds of lift. That means a balloon by ten feet by ten feet by ten feet. That means a balloon that's big, but not ridiculous. So I think when we get back I'll get one of my ballooning friends to look into this.
MB: Well, what about if there's a wind?
ACC: That's exactly what I thought of too, and you'd be in trouble. And of course if I had more than a thousand cubic feet the air force would have to shoot me down! [laughs] But it would be fun to do it indoors, in an arena or something. It would be a good sport, I'm surprised it hasn't been done.
MB: Yeah, you could moon-walk! Bounce around.
ACC: Exactly. A sixth of a G [Earth gravity]. That would be nice.
MB: That's a good idea, you should immediately patent that one!
ACC: I don't think it's patentable.
MB: You could have a new sport. New sports, in fact.
ACC: I'm very fond of quoting someone who said that a patent is merely a license to be sued! [laughs]"
T O1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm &r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6,325,329.WKU.&OS=PN/6,325,329&RS =PN/6,325,329>
Parabounce:
http://www.parabounce.com/
Helium Balloon Patent: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=P
You might be referring to neglegted masterpieces of Earth from space such as the following which do provide a emotional connection: Apollo 17 view of earth from moon surface: http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a17 /as17-137-20957HR.jpg
Alan Bean's 'Kissing the Earth':
http://www.alanbeangallery.com/kissing.html
Mars Global Surveyor view of earth:
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2003/05/22/
Mars Express view of Earth & moon:
http://www.esa.int/export/mex_mm/images/Erde_Mond_ PR_030707f.jpg
Cheers!
Avi