Abbas Ibn Firnas
(810 – 887 A.D.)
(810 – 887 A.D.)
the
man who made the first ever flight of the world & given the idea how man
could fly
'Abbas Ibn Firnas, or 'Abbas Qasim Ibn Firnas
(Latinized name: Armen Firman) (810 – 887 A.D.) (Arabic: العباس بن فرناس) was a
Berber[1][2] polymath: an aviator, chemist, humanitarian, inventor, musician,
physician, poet, and technologist. He was born in Izn-Rand Onda, al-Andalus
(today's Ronda, Spain), and lived in the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba
in al-Andalus, together with the Iraqi contemporary musician Ziryab. Like
Ziryab, Ibn Firnas worked at a huge variety of enterprises. He was studied in
chemistry, physics, and astronomy. He also set up astronomical tables and wrote
poetry. The name 'Abbas ibn Firnas' was later Latinized as Armen Firman.
Inventions
He designed a water clock called Al-Maqata. He also devised means of manufacturing glass from sand to produce silica and quartz glass, and he developed a chain of rings that could be used to display the motions of the planets and stars. He also developed a process for cutting rock crystal. Up to then, only the Egyptians knew how to facet crystal. Thereafter Spain no longer needed to export quartz to Egypt, but could finish it at home.
"Ibn Firnas was a polymath: a physician, a rather bad poet, the first to make glass from stones (quartz?), a student of music, and inventor of some sort of metronome."
Another one of his inventions was an artificial weather simulation room, in which spectators saw stars and clouds, and were astonished by artificial thunder and lightning. These were due to mechanisms hidden in the basement.[3]
Aviation
In 852, under the new Caliph 'Abd al-Rahman II, Ibn Firnas decided to fly off the minaret of the Mezquita mosque in Córdoba using a huge wing-like cloak to break his fall, which he survived with minor injuries. This was the first example of an early parachute. Ibn Firnas recognized that aviation was a difficult task and asked himself in a personal ledger:
"What man-made machine will ever achieve the complete perfection of even the goose's wing?"
In 875, at an age of 65 years, Ibn Firnas made the first attempt at controlled flight when he invented a hang glider with artifical wings, and launched himself from the Mount of the Bride (Jabal al-'arus) in the Rusafa Area, near Córdoba. The flight was largely successful, and was widely observed by a crowd that he had invited. However, the landing was bad. He injured his back, and left critics saying he hadn't taken proper account of the way birds pull up into a stall, and land on their tails. He'd provided neither a tail, nor means for such a maneuver. Ibn Firnas stated the following moments before he flew:
"Presently, I shall take leave of you. By guiding these wings up and down, I should ascend like the birds. If all goes well, after soaring for a time I should be able to return safely to your side."
Several eye witnesses reported the event. One of the witnesses reported"Having constructed the final version of his glider, to celebrate its success he invited the people of Cordoba to come and witness his flight. People watched from a nearby mountain as he flew some distance, but then the glider plummeted to the ground causing him to injure his back…" Another acount states:
"We thought ibn Firnas certainly mad ... and we feared for his life!"
Another witness, the poet Mu'min ibn Said (d. 886), reported:
"He flew faster than the phoenix in his flight when he dressed his body in the feathers of a vulture."
Based on these and several other eyewitness accounts, the historian al-Makkari described the event as follows:
"Among other very curious experiments which he made, one is his trying to fly. He covered himself with feathers for the purpose, attached a couple of wings to his body, and, getting on an eminence, flung himself down into the air, when according to the testimony of several trustworthy writers who witnessed the performance, he flew a considerable distance, as if he had been a bird, but, in alighting again on the place whence he had started, his back was very much hurt, for not knowing that birds when they alight come down upon their tails, he forgot to provide himself with one."
Ibn Firnas died twelve years later at the age of 77 years old.
Legacy
"Ibn Firnas was the first man in history to make a scientific attempt at flying."
—Philip Khuri Hitti, History of the Arabs.
Ibn Firnas' flight was apparently the inspiration for Eilmer of Malmesbury, more than a century later, who would fly for about 200 meters using a similar glider in England (circa 1010).[6] As Westerners teach their children about Sir George Cayley, Lilienthal and Santos-Dumont the Islamic countries tell theirs about Ibn Firnas, a thousand years before their time. The Libyans produced a postage stamp honoring him. The Iraqis built a statue in his memory on the way to Baghdad International Airport, and the Ibn Firnas Airport to the north of Baghdad is named for him. Ibn Firnas crater on the Moon is also named in his honor. Abbas Ibn Firnas died. Mechanics of Flight, Planetarium, Artificial Crystals. Ibn Firnas investigated means of flight and was apparently injured due to a trial in which he attempted to fly off of a cliff using wings. One of the earliest records of attempts at flight.
He designed a water clock called Al-Maqata. He also devised means of manufacturing glass from sand to produce silica and quartz glass, and he developed a chain of rings that could be used to display the motions of the planets and stars. He also developed a process for cutting rock crystal. Up to then, only the Egyptians knew how to facet crystal. Thereafter Spain no longer needed to export quartz to Egypt, but could finish it at home.
"Ibn Firnas was a polymath: a physician, a rather bad poet, the first to make glass from stones (quartz?), a student of music, and inventor of some sort of metronome."
Another one of his inventions was an artificial weather simulation room, in which spectators saw stars and clouds, and were astonished by artificial thunder and lightning. These were due to mechanisms hidden in the basement.[3]
Aviation
In 852, under the new Caliph 'Abd al-Rahman II, Ibn Firnas decided to fly off the minaret of the Mezquita mosque in Córdoba using a huge wing-like cloak to break his fall, which he survived with minor injuries. This was the first example of an early parachute. Ibn Firnas recognized that aviation was a difficult task and asked himself in a personal ledger:
"What man-made machine will ever achieve the complete perfection of even the goose's wing?"
In 875, at an age of 65 years, Ibn Firnas made the first attempt at controlled flight when he invented a hang glider with artifical wings, and launched himself from the Mount of the Bride (Jabal al-'arus) in the Rusafa Area, near Córdoba. The flight was largely successful, and was widely observed by a crowd that he had invited. However, the landing was bad. He injured his back, and left critics saying he hadn't taken proper account of the way birds pull up into a stall, and land on their tails. He'd provided neither a tail, nor means for such a maneuver. Ibn Firnas stated the following moments before he flew:
"Presently, I shall take leave of you. By guiding these wings up and down, I should ascend like the birds. If all goes well, after soaring for a time I should be able to return safely to your side."
Several eye witnesses reported the event. One of the witnesses reported"Having constructed the final version of his glider, to celebrate its success he invited the people of Cordoba to come and witness his flight. People watched from a nearby mountain as he flew some distance, but then the glider plummeted to the ground causing him to injure his back…" Another acount states:
"We thought ibn Firnas certainly mad ... and we feared for his life!"
Another witness, the poet Mu'min ibn Said (d. 886), reported:
"He flew faster than the phoenix in his flight when he dressed his body in the feathers of a vulture."
Based on these and several other eyewitness accounts, the historian al-Makkari described the event as follows:
"Among other very curious experiments which he made, one is his trying to fly. He covered himself with feathers for the purpose, attached a couple of wings to his body, and, getting on an eminence, flung himself down into the air, when according to the testimony of several trustworthy writers who witnessed the performance, he flew a considerable distance, as if he had been a bird, but, in alighting again on the place whence he had started, his back was very much hurt, for not knowing that birds when they alight come down upon their tails, he forgot to provide himself with one."
Ibn Firnas died twelve years later at the age of 77 years old.
Legacy
"Ibn Firnas was the first man in history to make a scientific attempt at flying."
—Philip Khuri Hitti, History of the Arabs.
Ibn Firnas' flight was apparently the inspiration for Eilmer of Malmesbury, more than a century later, who would fly for about 200 meters using a similar glider in England (circa 1010).[6] As Westerners teach their children about Sir George Cayley, Lilienthal and Santos-Dumont the Islamic countries tell theirs about Ibn Firnas, a thousand years before their time. The Libyans produced a postage stamp honoring him. The Iraqis built a statue in his memory on the way to Baghdad International Airport, and the Ibn Firnas Airport to the north of Baghdad is named for him. Ibn Firnas crater on the Moon is also named in his honor. Abbas Ibn Firnas died. Mechanics of Flight, Planetarium, Artificial Crystals. Ibn Firnas investigated means of flight and was apparently injured due to a trial in which he attempted to fly off of a cliff using wings. One of the earliest records of attempts at flight.
875 - [aviation, flight] Abbas Ibn Firnas made the first flight in a hang
glider with artificial wings, but his landing was unsuccessful.
Pesawat Terbang Ibnu Firnas dan Sketsa mesin terbangnya
Abbas Qasim Ibnu Firnas (di Barat dikenal dengan nama Armen Firman) dilahirkan
pada tahun 810 Masehi di Izn-Rand Onda, Al-Andalus (kini Ronda, Spanyol). Dia
dikenal ahli dalam berbagai disiplin ilmu, selain seorang ahli kimia, ia juga
seorang humanis, penemu, musisi, ahli ilmu alam, penulis puisi, dan seorang
penggiat teknologi. Pria keturunan Maroko ini hidup pada saat pemerintahan
Khalifah Umayyah di Andalusia (Spanyol). Pada tahun 852, di bawah pemerintahan
Khalifah Abdul Rahman II, Ibnu Firnas memutuskan untuk melakukan ujicoba
‘terbang’ dari menara Masjid Mezquita di Cordoba dengan menggunakan semacam
sayap dari jubah yang disangga kayu. Sayap buatan itu ternyata membuatnya
melayang sebentar di udara dan memperlambat jatuhnya, ia pun berhasil mendarat
walau dengan cedera ringan. Alat yang digunakan Ibnu Firnas inilah yang
kemudian dikenal sebagai parasut pertama di dunia. Pada tahun 875, saat usianya
menginjak 65 tahun, Ibnu Firnas merancang dan membuat sebuah mesin terbang yang
mampu membawa manusia. Setelah versi finalnya berhasil dibuat, ia sengaja
mengundang orang-orang Cordoba untuk turut menyaksikan penerbangan
bersejarahnya di Jabal Al-‘Arus (Mount of the Bride) di kawasan Rusafa, dekat
Cordoba. Penerbangan yang disaksikan secara luas oleh masyarakat itu terbilang
sangat sukses. Sayangnya, karena cara meluncur yang kurang baik, Ibnu Firnas
terhempas ke tanah bersama pesawat layang buatannya. Dia pun mengalami cedera
punggung yang sangat parah. Cederanya inilah yang membuat Ibnu Firnas tak
berdaya untuk melakukan ujicoba berikutnya. Abbas Ibnu Firnas wafat pada tahun
888, dalam keadaan berjuang menyembuhkan cedera punggung yang diderita akibat
kegagalan melakukan ujicoba pesawat layang buatannya. Walaupun percobaan terbang
menggunakan sepasang sayap dari bulu dan rangka kayu tidak berhasil dengan
sempurna, namun gagasan inovatif Ibnu Firnas kemudian dipelajari Roger Bacon
500 tahun setelah Firnas meletakkan teori-teori dasar pesawat terbangnya.
Kemudian sekitar 200 tahun setelah Bacon (700 tahun pascaujicoba Ibnu Firnas),
barulah konsep dan teori pesawat terbang dikembangkan.
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