275 years since the birth Kulibina Bashny.Net

April 21 marks 275 years since the birth of the "Russian Leonardo", as called by his contemporaries.

At the beginning of the reign of Alexander I, on the edge of Nizhny Novgorod, near Assumption Church appeared unfinished wooden house with empty eye sockets of windows. The owner of the house was a short, thin old man, a devout, humane and humble. But, despite the many advantages of the old man, the glory of it was questionable. Many things told about Assumption Novoselov, and reduce everything to one thing: a sorcerer, he says, and his evil forces Spodruchnitsa.

And one night unfinished house on fire. Lee himself, with whose help you - no one knows. "Sorcerer" had to find a corner for his large family. He lived out his life in a cold damp hut. It was only after his death, Nizhny Novgorod learned that he lived among them, the great engineer, inventor and scientist, builder, pyrotechnics Ivan Kulibin.





Stolen Bridge

In 1772, "St. Petersburg Vedomosti" placed ads: Royal Society of Sciences appointed a "noble reward to anyone who would make a better model of the bridge, which would have consisted of a single arc or a vault without piles and approved would meet her only on the banks of the river" .

Odnoprolёtny bridge was intended for the Thames. However, it was necessary, and St. Petersburg: during floods on the Neva Vasilevsky Island are cut off from the Admiralty side. Kulibin, who led at the time of the workshop of the Academy of Sciences took up the proposed task.

Once it went to one of the academicians and when he saw the drawings and model parts, became keenly interested. Trusting Ivan willingly laid out the details. Soon, a recent visitor to the project presented the Academy Bridge. He was appointed test day, were academics, came and Kulibin. Model attracted the beauty and grace. It was subjected to the test, placing in the middle of 5000 pounds of weight. If the model does not give way to pressure to approve the project. Load - worth it! Enthusiasm surrounding congratulations, creator of the content. Meanwhile Kulibin, who knew the subtleties of the design represented, discovered disguised as helpers, not possible with the construction of the bridge. As soon as it took away the bridge ruhnul.Nezadolgo before the bridge collapsed model, created by another academician-German. Therefore, when on December 27, 1776 was appointed kulibinskoy test model, the third in a row, ridicule and taunt was not the end.

Model of the bridge in one-tenth the original size was 14 yards (30 meters) in length and assembled in the Tauride garden a lot of people. The presence of the empress's favorite Prince Potemkin and Count Grigory Orlov did not restrained bitterness academics: Nizhny Novgorod peasant compete with European minds! In the model put 3870 pounds (according to other sources, 5,700 pounds) - it does not move. Then he went up to the bridge Kulibin and invited colleagues from the academy. Ventured alone Leonhard Euler, the famous mathematician, shortly before the test confirmed the correctness of calculations Kulibina. 28 days kulibinskaya stood under the weight of the model and not even bent.

Catherine II was awarded the inventor of 2,000 rubles and handed him a gold medal at the St. Andrew's tape. Honorary award gave its owner the right to freely enter the Winter Palace on a par with the highest ranks of the empire. A bridge was never built ...

The same bridge was only in the figures.



"Labor drowns sorrow»

In Kulibina often steal ideas. So they invented "samobegluyu carriage" shamelessly attributed to himself a scoundrel from Germany.

Another plagiarist, French, introduced in 1804 Napoleon elaborate prosthetic leg and won high praise. Creator as it was Kulibin who recorded back in 1801 in his "Reestre": "Artillery Porutchik Nepeytsynu instead of torn on the assault Ochakov cannonball legs above the knee is made of natural foot, made of thin metal, lined with cork and Cork with skin on way devoid of nature walks, sits and stands ... »
Once Chancellor Bezborodko took off from the first floor to the royal apartments in the "jack-chair", a prototype of the elevator. The mechanism, which is fashioned Kulibin, moved on two vertically mounted threaded spindle with two massive nuts that cranks out two. The chair was the favorite pastime of the courtiers.
And even were "amphibious craft" (Gone with the public bidding for firewood), "SPAR blinding lights" - the spotlight of the modern type, optical telegraph, drill, various mill machines, original waterwheel ...
Ivan Petrovich wrote to a friend and pupil Ivan Pyaterikova: "I work a lot and hard, but the position of my among the proud academics is not pleasant, and just worked hard, I drowned out the grief that cause them to me constantly with their ridicule and contempt appeal to me, a poor self-taught" .

Author - Savely Kashnitsky.



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