| Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary 1,727,438,864 visitors served. |
|
Dictionary/ thesaurus | Medical dictionary | Legal dictionary | Financial dictionary | Acronyms | Idioms | Encyclopedia | Wikipedia encyclopedia | ? |
dirigible |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.01 sec. |
|
dirigible or dirigible balloon: see airship airship, an aircraft that consists of a cigar-shaped gas bag, or envelope, filled with a lighter-than-air gas to provide lift, a propulsion system, a steering mechanism, and a gondola accommodating passengers, crew, and cargo. ..... Click the link for more information. . airshipor dirigibleLighter-than-air aircraft with steering and propulsion systems. Airships could be nonrigid (blimps), semirigid, or rigid. They all included a large cigar-shaped bag or balloon filled with a gas such as hydrogen or helium, a car or gondola suspended below the balloon that held the crew and passengers, engines to drive the propellers, and rudders for steering. Attempts to control the flight of balloons began soon after their invention in the 1780s. The first propeller-driven airship, built by Henri Giffard, flew in 1852 in France; design improvements led to construction of the rigid zeppelin (1900). The nonrigid helium-filled blimp was principally developed by Alberto Santos-Dumont (1873–1932). In 1928 Germany began regular transatlantic airship passenger service. Several explosions, particularly the 1937 Hindenburg disaster, and airplane developments made the airship commercially obsolete. See also balloon. dirigible [də′rij·ə·bəl] (aerospace engineering) A lighter-than-air craft equipped with means of propelling and steering for controlled flight. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
|
| ? Mentioned in | ? References in classic literature | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| --My dear fellow, the science of the aerostation of dirigible balloons is not yet developed enough for me to consider it and suppose that a murderer would drop from the clouds "Yes," says Captain Hodgson, answering my thought, "Castelli thought he'd discovered the secret of controlling aeroplanes when he'd only found out how to steer dirigible balloons. |
| Encyclopedia |
| Free Tools: |
For surfers:
Free toolbar & extensions |
Word of the Day |
Help
For webmasters: Free content | Linking | Lookup box | Double-click lookup | Partner with us |
|---|