![]() ![]() In the meantime, Bell’s own colleagues-the other members of the AEA- became more interested in producing conventional aircraft, and subsequently a series of airplanes were designed. Unfortunately, it crashed and tore to pieces on landing. It successfully flew carrying a human passenger 168 feet above water when towed behind a steamship. It was composed of over 3,393 cells, was 40 feet long and weighed 91 kg. The same year, the AEA built the largest tetrahedral kite, named the Cygnet, meaning “little swan” in French. In 1907, Bell collected a group of a young men interested in aviation and established the Aerial Experimental Association (AEA), whose purpose was to build a practical powered airplane. He was convinced that his tetrahedral cell structure was more stable than the Wright brothers’ machine. Although it looks pretty complicated, tetrahedral kites are very easy to fly.īell believed that the future of flight lied in kites and not in airplanes, which the Wright brothers had demonstrated. This geometric form, known as a tetrahedral, is one of nature's most stable structures. Then he combined several box-like cells to create large pyramidal structure with three triangular sides and a triangular base. Bell realized that by sharing joints and spars, he was able to greatly increase the surface area of his kites with little increase in weight. His first innovation was the box kite, which he built by joining the sides of several triangular kites together to create a box-like structure. Bell also had a great passion for aeronautics.īell became obsessed with flight and began studying the possibility of building a kite large and stable enough to carry a man. Aside from his priceless contributions in the field of acoustics and telegraphy, Bell is also credited with the invention of the metal detector, the audiometer (an instrument used to detect hearing problems), and a device to locate icebergs.īell and his associates investigated the possibility of impressing a magnetic field on a physical device as a means of recording sound-the basic principle behind tape recorder and hard disc-but could not develop a workable prototype. Alexander Graham Bell is best remembered for inventing the telephone, but the great Scottish inventor’s interests weren’t limited to just one field. ![]()
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