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The pilot controls an hotair balloon using the temperature inside the envelope. And the burner is the tool that he or she uses to control the temperature. That is why the burner is the engine of the balloon. An increase in the inside temperature sends the flight higher. And a decrease helps it land. In between, the pilot horizontally maneuvers it by catching the air drift at different altitudes. As the industry progresses, the world may have many other types of them. With the advancement of artificial intelligence, there might be a time when the balloon can fly even remotely.
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The two important components of the balloon envelope are its fabric and vents. Other ballooning gears facilitate its functioning. During the flight, the pilot is always studying the altitude, pressure, and other aspects using various instruments. Pilots have a tremendous amount of control over the balloon’s rise, altitude, steering, descend and landing. They monitor it with various instruments using anticipation skills. These are equipment other than the envelope, burner and basket that the pilots use frequently. During a flight the pilot requires some of them, but not all. The instruments used during the flight are a fascinating study in itself.
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Many people are enthusiastic about flying a hotair balloon. The next thing they do is to venture out and grab the best do-it-yourself kit available in the market. Those kits may provide information needed to make and operate a balloon but leave out the subtle nuances. For example, people wonder why the large size. They are large because of the need to create a lift that exceeds the volume of hot gas. The balloon takes an enormous amount of hot air to rise. It needs air with a temperature of 120°C and a radius of 4m to lift one person.
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A basket, a burner and an envelope make up a hotair balloon. It’s a simple equipment. People had been using the same three components – basket, burner, envelope – for balloon ever since its invention in the 18thcentury. Although the sophistication level is higher, it still is composed of just those three things. The only difference is that the advanced technology has enabled it to fly higher, faster and safer. Perhaps by passing through the industry experience curve, balloons may be able to sustain longer distances in shorter time frame. With cutting-edge machinery, it is easy to fathom such a
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The buoyancy theory was introduced by the Greek mathematician Archimedes. It is an upward force the air exerts when heated that defies the force of gravity. According to this principle, the upward resilient force is the same as the weight of the air that is displaced. Hotair balloon is an original application of this fundamental scientific principle. It rises due to the displacement of air. Ever since then, the idea has been gaining momentum. It gave birth not only to hotair balloon but eventually also to a full-fledged aviation industry. Along the way aviation history has witnessed some key moments.
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The giraffe is an iconic and awe-inspiring creature and the tallest mammal on earth. Both ancient and modern cultures revered it and described it as being magnificent in appearance. But they are weird too, with their long necks and legs, large eyes and long lashes, ambling gait and calm demeanor as well as striking coat pattern. They play a unique role in the ecosystem by eating leaves too high for use by other animals. Giraffes spot the predators before any other animals because of their height, and then they warn the others about the danger through their soundless communication method.
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Maasai giraffes are the tallest of the subspecies of giraffes. They do not have to compete with other animals for food because of their height. As a strict herbivore, a giraffe is adapted to reach shoots, foliage, fruits, flowers and other vegetation from tall trees that are inaccessible to other herbivores because of its extreme height and long necks. The height also helps them to remain in areas where grazing has obliterated the plants close to the ground. Giraffes can survive in regions with scarce water. They can go for days without drinking and stay hydrated by the leaves’ moisture.
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There are nine species of giraffes in Africa, although the taxonomy is not widely and popularly agreed. They are the Reticulated or Somali giraffe, Kordofan giraffe, Nubian giraffe, South African or Cape giraffe, Angolan or Smokey giraffe, West African or Nigerian Giraffe, Maasai or Kilimanjaro giraffe, Rhodesian or Thornicroft giraffe and Rothschild or Ugandan giraffe. Some scientists regard West African and Kordofan giraffes as a single subspecies; the same way with Rothschild’s and Nubian giraffes, as well as with South African and Angolan giraffes. Further, some scientists consider all of them except the Maasai giraffes belonging to a single subspecies.
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Once the giraffes lie down to sleep, getting up quickly even in response to a predator’s attack is an awkward and time-consuming procedure. Those lean legs take some time to get off the ground. Therefore, when giraffes sleep, more often they remain fully standing with their neck and head curved around to rest on their hump. Or they engage in a sort of half-sleeping period in a fully upright position, in which the eyes are half-open, and the ears keep twitching. They have also been known to occasionally keep an eye open protecting itself by almost never going off alert.
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When the giraffe bends down to drink, the gravitational force is not only reduced but also reversed. Otherwise, the blood that is pumped towards the brain possibly may lead to brain damage. But the harder pumping to get the blood uphill results in high blood pressure. Therefore, the blood pressure of giraffe is exceptionally high. The blood pressure of a giraffe’s heart can reach roughly twice as that of a human being. But in their heads, the blood pressure remains the same as a human’s irrespective of whether they are drinking at ground level or chomping leaves from the trees.
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The neck of a giraffe is an easily recognizable feature because it is very long. It has seven cervical vertebrae, each one 25 cm long. They put them to use when battling with other giraffes for mates and territory, and when picking food from tall trees. Another interesting feature is its horns that are called ossicones. They are covered in skin and formed from ossified cartilage. But the giraffe skin produces an unpleasant smell. While no one knows what accounts for its long necks, there are enough studies done on ossicones and explanations given as to what causes the stink.
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At an average height of 5.6m from the ground to the horns, the tallest land-based mammal in the world is giraffe. Despite its tallness, it is closely related to the smaller Okapi that is found elusively in the dense tropical forests. Giraffes are rarely heard and are considered silent mammals, but when disturbed, they will growl, grunt and snort to warn others of the danger. Some other communication sounds are mooing, moaning, hissing, snoring, and flutelike sounds. Mother giraffes search for their lost young by whistling and bellowing calls. And the young return the mother’s calls by mewing or bleating.
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The thing that differentiates a Maasai giraffe from other species is the design of its irregular star-shaped patches fur that is of several shades. The spots are jagged compared to the others. Its skin resembles dried oak leaves that can have several shades, like orange or cream. The patches are buff-colored from below the knee. The spots on the coat are like human fingerprints because no two patterns are the same. They can be used to identify a giraffe. Males have darker spots than females, with the dominant male having the darkest. It is unknown what causes this physical change.
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An exploratory journey about giraffes through their glorifying times in the past, its scientific contribution in the present and its uncertain future is astounding. Their history in the ancient Europe depicted them as regal and majestic. In modern times, their contribution has led to innovations in space explorations. And their future is uncertain unless measures are put in place to mitigate the consequences of degradation and poaching. Otherwise, these gentle giants are at risk of turning the glorifying past into horrifying future. This journey of how the future of giraffes that were once considered royal became bleak is worth exploring.
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It has been shown that giraffes can sleep either in a standing or recumbent posture. In the standing posture, they are motionless, and the neck is at a narrow angle. The transition from standing to recumbency is gradual and the transition to recumbent sleep from recumbent wakefulness could occur several times before paradoxical sleep could be seen. In recumbency, giraffes could be seen either sleeping or awake. The posture consists of legs folded under the neck. The neck is bent forward at an angle less vertical than when awake. And the head will be rested immobile on the rear leg.
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Major David Sheldrick had to face many obstacles during his passionate years in East Tsavo national park. The drought and the flood that came along did not ease the pressure in any way and made it even harder. It was a constant uphill battle. The continuous fire fighting and the many challenges, however, did yield results in the end. At least the anti-poaching campaign was a success. However, Kenya’s independence in 1963 brought about some unwanted changes in national park’s administration. It is in the best interests of everyone concerned if things can go back to the former Sheldrick days.
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Amboseli National Park is the second most-visited and favorite wildlife safari park in Kenya after Maasai Mara. Flora and fauna abound in this piece of rich savanna grassland. The loose surface of the roads is covered with volcanic soil that is impassable in the wet season and dusty in the dry season. The park’s closeness to the Tanzanian border and Kenya’s capital Nairobi makes it a perfect weekend getaway for most game enthusiasts and visitors alike. Amboseli National Park has become not only a safari traveler’s dream come true but also a nature haven for photographers and fodder for documentaries.
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The credit of converting the unchartered Tsavo to a wildlife park goes to Kenya’s first generation of wardens, David Sheldrick, Peter Jenkins and Bill Woodley. They were proficient riflemen capable of shooting an elephant, rhino, lion or buffalo the moment they could walk. The first task of the early pioneer park wardens, Sheldrick, Jenkins, and Woodley, was to walk on foot in punishing temperatures of the dry season. They carried with them what water they could. But during wet seasons, they ventured further, for they were hardened naturalists, and drank from waterholes that were used by the animals as well.
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The African Rift Valley System is one of the tectonic features not only of Kenya but also of Africa that extends from Mozambique in the south through eastern Africa to Jordan in southwestern Asia. The rift extends from south in Mozambique all the way up to north in Jordan to the southwestern Asia. Consisting of the Nubian Plate, the Somalian Plate, the Ethiopian Plate and the Arabian Plate, fault scarps are the most noticeable feature of the African Rift Valley. Nevertheless, the formation of Rift Valley in Kenya is an ongoing discussion and geologists reckon that more research is needed.
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There are up to two million lesser and greater flamingos in Lake Nakuru. The sight of huge flocks of these flamingos along the Nakuru lakeshore seems like a mirage from a distance because of its combination of white feathers and fuchsia-colored legs. In fact, at times, the lake’s surface is almost never seen. The patterns of flamingo migration are quite mysterious too. Sometimes they depart at night on long journeys between the many different alkaline lakes situated along the Rift Valley. So, it is never easy to predict at which lake they are. Flamingos almost never breed in Lake Nakuru.