The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean
The Great Balloon Escape
December 9, 202518 min · 3,671 words
Show notes
Astronomer Jules Janssen was desperate to escape the siege of Paris in 1870 and observe an eclipse in Africa—work that he hoped would confirm his discovery of a brand new element in the Sun, helium. So he devised a plan to escape the city in a hot-air balloon, despite promises by the German army to shoot him as a spy if he dared try. Advertising Inquiries: Privacy & Opt-Out:
Highlighted moments
They argued that it was much more likely that the line represented a common element behaving strangely in the sun's extreme heat. To their minds, helium was bogus.
“They could fit 3,000 messages in an area just half the size of a modern post-it note. These messages were rolled up and slipped inside a goose quill.”
“The co-pilot was a sailor and he had exactly as much flying experience as Janssen did, 0.0 hours between them.”
“he had been shut behind a cloud curtain even more impervious than the Prussian lines.”
Transcript
Transcript not available for this episode yet.