Russian and Soviet self-taught scientist, inventor and researcher in the field of aerodynamics and aeronautics, founder of modern cosmonautics.
Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky was born on September 5 (17), 1857 in the family of the district forester Eduard Ignatievich Tsiolkovsky (1820-1881), who lived in the village of Spassky district, Ryazan province. In 1866 he suffered from scarlet fever, due to which he almost lost his hearing.
In 1869-1871, K. E. Tsiolkovsky studied at the Vyatka men's gymnasium. In 1871, due to deafness, he was forced to leave the educational institution and began self-education.
In 1873, K. E. Tsiolkovsky made an attempt to enter the Higher Technical School in, which ended in failure. However, he remained in the city, deciding to continue his education on his own. In 1873-1876, K. E. Tsiolkovsky lived in, studied at the Chertkovsky Public Library (later transferred to the building of the Rumyantsev Museum), where he met. In three years I mastered the gymnasium curriculum and part of the university curriculum. Upon his return in 1876-1878, he was engaged in tutoring and showed the abilities of a talented teacher.
In 1879, at the 1st Ryazan Gymnasium, K. E. Tsiolkovsky successfully passed the external examination for the right to occupy the position of teacher in district schools. Based on the results of the exam, he received a referral from the Ministry of Education to the city of Kaluga province, where he went at the beginning of 1880.
In 1880-1892, K. E. Tsiolkovsky served as a teacher of arithmetic and geometry at the Borovsky district school. He advanced quite successfully in his career, and by 1889 he received the rank of collegiate assessor. His first scientific research dates back to the period of work in Borovsk. In 1881, K. E. Tsiolkovsky independently developed the foundations of the kinetic theory of gases and sent this work to the Russian Physical-Chemical Society, which noted the author’s “great abilities and hard work.” Since 1885, he dealt primarily with issues of aeronautics.
In 1892, K. E. Tsiolkovsky was transferred to service in, where he lived until the end of his days. Until 1917, he taught physics and mathematics at the city gymnasium and the diocesan women's school. His conscientious work was awarded the Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd degree (1906) and St. Anne, 3rd degree (1911).
In parallel with his teaching activities, K. E. Tsiolkovsky was engaged in research in the field of theoretical and experimental aerodynamics, and developed a project for an all-metal airship. In 1897, the scientist created the first wind tunnel in Russia, developed an experimental technique in it, conducted and described experiments with the simplest models.
By 1896, K. E. Tsiolkovsky had created mathematical theory jet propulsion. His article “Exploration of world spaces using jet instruments” (1903) became the world's first scientific work on the theory of jet propulsion and the theory of astronautics. In it, he substantiated the real possibility of using jet instruments for interplanetary communications, laid the foundations for the theory of rockets and liquid rocket engines.
After the October Revolution of 1917, K. E. Tsiolkovsky participated in the work of the Proletarian University in. At this time, he worked hard and fruitfully to create a theory of jet flight and developed a design for a gas turbine engine. He was the first to theoretically solve the problem of landing spacecraft on the surface of planets without an atmosphere. In 1926-1929, K. E. Tsiolkovsky developed the theory of multi-stage rockets, in 1932 - the theory of the flight of jet aircraft in the stratosphere and schemes for designing aircraft for flight at hypersonic speeds. In 1927, he published the theory and design of a hovercraft train.
K. E. Tsiolkovsky became the founder of the theory of interplanetary communications. His research was the first to show the possibility of reaching cosmic speeds and the feasibility of interplanetary flights. He was the first to study the issue of a rocket - an artificial satellite of the Earth and the creation of near-Earth orbital stations as artificial settlements that use the energy of the Sun and serve as intermediate bases for interplanetary communications. K. E. Tsiolkovsky was the first to solve the problem of the movement of a rocket in a non-uniform gravitational field and considered the influence of the atmosphere on the flight of a rocket, and also calculated the necessary fuel reserves to overcome resistance forces air shell Earth.
K. E. Tsiolkovsky also gained fame as a talented popularizer, author of philosophical and artistic works (“On the Moon,” “Dreams of Earth and Sky,” “Outside the Earth,” etc.), who developed issues cosmic philosophy and ethics.
The scientific work of K. E. Tsiolkovsky enjoyed the patronage of the Soviet government. All conditions for creative activity were created for him. In 1918, the scientist was elected to the number of competing members of the Socialist Academy of Social Sciences (since 1924 - the Communist Academy), and since 1921 he was awarded a lifetime pension for services to domestic and world science. For "special services in the field of inventions of great importance for economic power and defense USSR", K. E. Tsiolkovsky was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor in 1932.
K. E. Tsiolkovsky died in
Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky was born in the village of Izhevskoye, which was located in the Spassky district of the Ryazan Province, in 1857 on September 5. He was a great Soviet scientist, researcher and inventor in the field of rocket and aerodynamics, as well as the main founder of modern cosmonautics.
As you know, Konstantin Eduardovich was a child in a family of ordinary foresters, and in childhood, due to scarlet fever, he almost completely lost his hearing. This fact became the reason that the great scientist was unable to continue studying in high school, and he had to switch to selfeducation. During his youth, Tsiolkovsky lived in Moscow, and there he studied mathematical sciences according to the program higher schools. In 1879, he successfully passed all the exams, and the next year he was appointed teacher of geometry and arithmetic at the Borovsky School, located in the Kaluga province.
It was from this time that the largest number of scientific studies of Konstantin Eduardovich dated back, which were noted by such a scientist-encyclopedist and physiologist as Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov, which was the reason for Tsiolkovsky’s acceptance into the Russian physicochemical community. Almost all of the works of this great inventor were devoted to jet vehicles, airplanes, airships, and many other aerodynamic studies.
It is worth especially noting that it was Konstantin Eduardovich who came up with a completely new idea for those times of building an airplane with a metal skin and frame. In addition, in 1898, Tsiolkovsky became the first Russian citizen to independently develop and build a wind tunnel, which later began to be used in many flying machines.
The passion to understand the sky and space prompted Konstantin Eduardovich to write more than four hundred works, which are known only to a small circle of his admirers.
Among other things, thanks to the unique and thoughtful proposals of this great researcher, today almost all military artillery uses trestles for launching volley fire. In addition, it was Tsiolkovsky who thought of a way to refuel missiles during their actual flight.
Konstantin Eduardovich had four children: Lyubov, Ignatius, Alexander and Ivan.
In 1932, Tsiolkovsky was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, and in 1954, on the occasion of the centenary, a medal was named after him, which was awarded to scientists for special works in the field of interplanetary communications.
Origin. Tsiolkovsky family
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky came from the Polish noble family of the Tsiolkovskys (Polish: Ciołkowski) of the Yastrzembets coat of arms. The first mention of the Tsiolkovskys belonging to the noble class dates back to 1697.
Coat of arms of Yastrzebiec
According to family legend, the Tsiolkovsky family traced its genealogy to the Cossack Severin Nalivaiko, the leader of the anti-feudal peasant-Cossack uprising in Ukraine in the 16th century. Answering the question of how the Cossack family became noble, Sergei Samoilovich, a researcher of Tsiolkovsky’s work and biography, suggests that Nalivaiko’s descendants were exiled to the Plotsk Voivodeship, where they became related to a noble family and adopted their surname - Tsiolkovsky; this surname supposedly came from the name of the village of Tselkovo (that is, Telyatnikovo, Polish Ciołkowo).
However, modern research does not confirm this legend. The genealogy of the Tsiolkovskys was restored approximately to the middle of the 17th century; their relationship with Nalivaiko has not been established and is only in the nature of a family legend. Obviously, this legend appealed to Konstantin Eduardovich himself - in fact, it is known only from himself (from autobiographical notes). In addition, in the copy that belonged to the scientist, “ Encyclopedic Dictionary Brockhaus and Efron”, the article “Nalivaiko, Severin” is marked out with a charcoal pencil - this is how Tsiolkovsky marked the most interesting places in his books.
It is documented that the founder of the family was a certain Maciey (Polish Maciey, in modern spelling Polish Maciej), who had three sons: Stanislav, Jacob (Yakub, Polish Jakub) and Valerian, who after the death of their father became the owners of the villages of Velikoye Tselkovo, Maloe Tselkovo and Snegovo. The surviving record says that the landowners of the Płock Voivodeship, the Tsiolkovsky brothers, took part in the election of the Polish king Augustus the Strong in 1697. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky is a descendant of Yakov.
By the end of the 18th century, the Tsiolkovsky family became greatly impoverished. In conditions of deep crisis and collapse of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Polish nobility also experienced difficult times. In 1777, 5 years after the first partition of Poland, K. E. Tsiolkovsky’s great-grandfather Tomas (Foma) sold the Velikoye Tselkovo estate and moved to the Berdichev district of the Kyiv voivodeship in Right Bank Ukraine, and then to the Zhitomir district of the Volyn province. Many subsequent representatives of the family held minor positions in the judiciary. Not having any significant privileges from their nobility, they forgot about it and their coat of arms for a long time.
On May 28, 1834, K. E. Tsiolkovsky’s grandfather, Ignatius Fomich, received certificates of “noble dignity” so that his sons, according to the laws of that time, would have the opportunity to continue their education. Thus, starting with father K. E. Tsiolkovsky, the family regained its noble title.
Parents of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Konstantin's father, Eduard Ignatievich Tsiolkovsky (1820-1881, full name- Makar-Edward-Erasm, Makary Edward Erazm). Born in the village of Korostyanin (now Goshchansky district, Rivne region in northwestern Ukraine). In 1841 he graduated from the Forestry and Land Surveying Institute in St. Petersburg, then served as a forester in the Olonets and St. Petersburg provinces. In 1843 he was transferred to the Pronsky forestry of the Spassky district of the Ryazan province.
Father, Eduard Ignatievich Tsiolkovsky
While living in the village of Izhevsk, he met his future wife Maria Ivanovna Yumasheva (1832-1870), mother of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. Having Tatar roots, she was raised in the Russian tradition. The ancestors of Maria Ivanovna moved to the Pskov province under Ivan the Terrible. Her parents, small landed nobles, also owned a cooperage and basketry workshop. Maria Ivanovna was an educated woman: she graduated from high school, knew Latin, mathematics and other sciences.
Almost immediately after the wedding in 1849, the Tsiolkovsky couple moved to the village of Izhevskoye, Spassky district, where they lived until 1860.
Mother, Maria Ivanovna Yumasheva
Childhood. Izhevskoe. Ryazan (1857-1868)
Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky was born on September 5 (17), 1857 in the village of Izhevsk near Ryazan. He was baptized in St. Nicholas Church. The name Konstantin was completely new in the Tsiolkovsky family; it was given by the name of the priest who baptized the baby.
Kostya Tsiolkovsky, Ryazan, 1863 or 1864
At the age of nine, Kostya, while sledding at the beginning of winter, caught a cold and fell ill with scarlet fever. As a result of complications after a serious illness, he partially lost his hearing. Then came what Konstantin Eduardovich later called “the saddest, most dark time of my life". Hearing loss deprived the boy of many childhood fun and experiences familiar to his healthy peers.
At this time, Kostya first begins to show interest in craftsmanship. “I liked making doll skates, houses, sleds, clocks with weights, etc. All this was made of paper and cardboard and joined with sealing wax,” he would write later.
In 1868, the surveying and taxation classes were closed, and Eduard Ignatievich again lost his job. The next move was to Vyatka, where there was a large Polish community and the father of the family had two brothers, who probably helped him get the position of head of the Forestry Department.
Vyatka. Training at the gymnasium. Death of mother (1869-1873)
During their life in Vyatka, the Tsiolkovsky family changed several apartments. For the last 5 years (from 1873 to 1878) they lived in the wing of the Shuravin merchants' estate on Preobrazhenskaya Street.
In 1869, Kostya, together with his younger brother Ignatius, entered the first class of the Vyatka men's gymnasium. Studying was very difficult, there were a lot of subjects, the teachers were strict. Deafness was a big hindrance: “I couldn’t hear the teachers at all or heard only vague sounds.”
“Once again I ask you, Dmitry Ivanovich, to take my work under your protection. The oppression of circumstances, deafness from the age of ten, the resulting ignorance of life and people and other unfavorable conditions, I hope, will excuse my weakness in your eyes.”
In the same year, sad news came from St. Petersburg - the elder brother Dmitry, who studied at Maritime School. This death shocked the whole family, but especially Maria Ivanovna. In 1870, Kostya’s mother, whom he loved dearly, died unexpectedly.
Grief crushed the orphaned boy. Already not shining with success in his studies, oppressed by the misfortunes that befell him, Kostya studied worse and worse. He became much more acutely aware of his deafness, which hampered his studies at school and made him more and more isolated. For pranks, he was repeatedly punished and ended up in a punishment cell. In the second grade, Kostya stayed for the second year, and from the third (in 1873) he was expelled with the characteristic “... for admission to a technical school.” After that, Konstantin never studied anywhere - he studied exclusively on his own; During these classes, he used his father's small library (which contained books on science and mathematics). Unlike gymnasium teachers, books generously endowed him with knowledge and never made the slightest reproach.
At the same time, Kostya became involved in technical and scientific creativity. He independently made an astrolabe (the first distance it measured was to a fire tower), a home lathe, self-propelled carriages and locomotives. The devices were driven by spiral springs, which Konstantin extracted from old crinolines bought at the market. He was fond of magic tricks and made various boxes in which objects appeared and disappeared. Experiments with a paper model of a hydrogen-filled balloon ended in failure, but Konstantin does not despair, continues to work on the model, and is thinking about a project for a car with wings.
Moscow. Self-education. Meeting with Nikolai Fedorov (1873-1876)
Believing in his son’s abilities, in July 1873, Eduard Ignatievich decided to send Konstantin to Moscow to enter the Higher Technical School (now Bauman Moscow State Technical University), providing him with a covering letter to his friend asking him to help him get settled. However, Konstantin lost the letter and only remembered the address: Nemetskaya Street (now Baumanskaya Street). Having reached it, the young man rented a room in the laundress’s apartment.
For unknown reasons, Konstantin never entered the school, but decided to continue his education on his own. Living literally on bread and water (my father sent me 10-15 rubles a month), I began to study hard. “I had nothing then except water and black bread. Every three days I went to the bakery and bought 9 kopecks worth of bread there. Thus, I lived on 90 kopecks a month.” To save money, Konstantin moved around Moscow only on foot. He spent all his free money on books, instruments and chemicals.
Every day from ten in the morning until three or four in the afternoon, the young man studied science in the Chertkovo Public Library - the only free library in Moscow at that time.
In this library, Tsiolkovsky met with the founder of Russian cosmism, Nikolai Fedorovich Fedorov, who worked there as an assistant librarian (an employee who was constantly in the hall), but never recognized the famous thinker in the humble employee. “He gave me forbidden books. Then it turned out that he was a famous ascetic, a friend of Tolstoy and an amazing philosopher and modest man. He gave away all his tiny salary to the poor. Now I see that he wanted to make me his boarder, but he failed: I was too shy,” Konstantin Eduardovich later wrote in his autobiography. Tsiolkovsky admitted that Fedorov replaced university professors for him. However, this influence manifested itself much later, ten years after the death of Moscow Socrates, and during his stay in Moscow, Konstantin knew nothing about the views of Nikolai Fedorovich, and they never spoke about Cosmos.
Work in the library was subject to a clear routine. In the morning, Konstantin studied exact and natural sciences, which required concentration and clarity of mind. Then he switched to simpler material: fiction and journalism. He actively studied “thick” magazines, where both review scientific articles and journalistic articles were published. He enthusiastically read Shakespeare, Leo Tolstoy, Turgenev, and admired the articles of Dmitry Pisarev: “Pisarev made me tremble with joy and happiness. In him I then saw my second “I.”
During the first year of his life in Moscow, Tsiolkovsky studied physics and the beginnings of mathematics. In 1874, the Chertkovsky Library moved to the building of the Rumyantsev Museum, and Nikolai Fedorov moved to a new place of work with it. In the new reading room, Konstantin studies differential and integral calculus, higher algebra, analytical and spherical geometry. Then astronomy, mechanics, chemistry.
In three years, Konstantin completely mastered the gymnasium curriculum, as well as a significant part of the university curriculum.
Unfortunately, his father could no longer pay for his stay in Moscow and, moreover, was not feeling well and was preparing to retire. With the knowledge he gained, Konstantin could easily begin independent work in the provinces, as well as continue his education outside of Moscow. In the fall of 1876, Eduard Ignatievich called his son back to Vyatka, and Konstantin returned home.
Return to Vyatka. Tutoring (1876-1878)
Konstantin returned to Vyatka weak, emaciated and emaciated. Difficult living conditions in Moscow and intense work also led to deterioration of vision. After returning home, Tsiolkovsky began wearing glasses. Having regained his strength, Konstantin began giving private lessons in physics and mathematics. I learned my first lesson thanks to my father’s connections in liberal society. Having proven himself to be a talented teacher, he subsequently had no shortage of students.
When teaching lessons, Tsiolkovsky used his own original methods, the main of which was a visual demonstration - Konstantin made paper models of polyhedra for geometry lessons, together with his students he conducted numerous experiments in physics lessons, which earned him the reputation of a teacher who well and clearly explains the material in his classes. always interesting. To make models and conduct experiments, Tsiolkovsky rented a workshop. Everything is yours free time spent in it or in the library. I read a lot - specialized literature, fiction, journalism. According to his autobiography, at this time I read the magazines Sovremennik, Delo, and Otechestvennye zapiski for all the years that they were published. At the same time, I read Isaac Newton’s “Principia,” whose scientific views Tsiolkovsky adhered to for the rest of his life.
At the end of 1876, Konstantin's younger brother Ignatius died. The brothers were very close from childhood, Konstantin trusted Ignatius with his most intimate thoughts, and his brother’s death was a heavy blow.
By 1877, Eduard Ignatievich was already very weak and ill, the tragic death of his wife and children affected (except for the sons Dmitry and Ignatius, during these years the Tsiolkovskys lost their youngest daughter, Ekaterina - she died in 1875, during the absence of Konstantin), the head of the family left resign. In 1878, the entire Tsiolkovsky family returned to Ryazan.
Return to Ryazan. Examinations for the title of teacher (1878-1880)
Upon returning to Ryazan, the family lived on Sadovaya Street. Immediately after his arrival, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky passed a medical examination and was released from military service due to deafness. The family intended to buy a house and live on the income from it, but the unexpected happened - Konstantin quarreled with his father. As a result, Konstantin rented a separate room from the employee Palkin and was forced to look for other means of livelihood, since his personal savings accumulated from private lessons in Vyatka were coming to an end, and in Ryazan an unknown tutor without recommendations could not find students.
Certificate of a district mathematics teacher received by Tsiolkovsky
To continue working as a teacher, a certain, documented qualification was required. In the fall of 1879, at the First Provincial Gymnasium, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky took an external examination to become a district mathematics teacher. As a “self-taught” student, he had to pass a “full” exam - not only the subject itself, but also grammar, catechism, liturgy and other compulsory disciplines. Tsiolkovsky was never interested in or studied these subjects, but managed to prepare in a short time.
Having successfully passed the exam, Tsiolkovsky received a referral from the Ministry of Education to the position of teacher of arithmetic and geometry at the Borovsk district school in the Kaluga province (Borovsk was located 100 km from Moscow) and in January 1880 he left Ryazan.
Borovsk. Creating a family. Work at school. First scientific works and publications (1880-1892)
In Borovsk, the unofficial capital of the Old Believers, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky lived and taught for 12 years, started a family, made several friends, and wrote his first scientific works. At this time, his contacts with the Russian scientific community began, and his first publications were published.
“Morals in Borovsk were wild; fist violence and the rule of the strong often reigned on the streets. There were three chapels in the city of different faiths. Often members of the same family belonged to different sects and ate from different dishes.
At holidays, during weddings, the rich rode dashingly on trotters, paraded around the city with some bride’s dowry, right down to feather beds, buffets, geese and roosters, and wild drinking sessions and parties were held. The schismatics fought with other sects.
From the memoirs of Lyubov Konstantinovna, the daughter of a scientist"
Arrival in Borovsk and marriage
Upon arrival, Tsiolkovsky stayed in hotel rooms on the central square of the city. After a long search for more convenient housing, Tsiolkovsky, on the recommendation of the residents of Borovsk, “ended up living with a widower and his daughter who lived on the outskirts of the city” - E. E. Sokolov, a widower, a priest of the United Faith Church. He was given two rooms and a table of soup and porridge. Sokolov's daughter Varya was only two months younger than Tsiolkovsky; Her character and hard work pleased him, and soon Tsiolkovsky married her; they got married on August 20, 1880 in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin. Tsiolkovsky did not take any dowry for the bride, there was no wedding, the wedding was not advertised.
In January of the following year, K. E. Tsiolkovsky’s father died in Ryazan.
Work at school
The building of the former Borovsky district school. In the foreground is a memorial cross on the site of the ruined grave of noblewoman Morozova. 2007
At the Borovsky district school, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky continued to improve as a teacher: he taught arithmetic and geometry in a non-standard way, came up with exciting problems and set up amazing experiments, especially for the Borovsk boys. Several times he and his students launched a huge paper balloon with a “gondola” containing burning splinters to heat the air.
Sometimes Tsiolkovsky had to replace other teachers and teach lessons in drawing, drawing, history, geography, and once even replaced the school superintendent.
First scientific works. Russian Physical and Chemical Society
After classes at the school and on weekends, Tsiolkovsky continued his research at home: he worked on manuscripts, made drawings, and performed experiments. In his house, electric lightning flashes, thunder rumbles, bells ring, paper dolls dance.
Tsiolkovsky's very first work was devoted to the application of mechanics in biology. It was the article “Graphic representation of sensations” written in 1880; In this work, Tsiolkovsky developed the pessimistic theory of the “shaken zero”, characteristic of him at that time, and mathematically substantiated the idea of the meaninglessness of human life (this theory, as the scientist later admitted, was destined to play a fatal role in his life and in the life of his family). Tsiolkovsky sent this article to the magazine “Russian Thought”, but it was not published there and the manuscript was not returned, and Konstantin switched to other topics.
In 1881, Tsiolkovsky wrote his first truly scientific work, “The Theory of Gases” (the manuscript of which has not been found). One day he was visited by student Vasily Lavrov, who offered his help, since he was heading to St. Petersburg and could submit the manuscript for consideration to the Russian Physicochemical Society (RFCS), a very authoritative scientific community in Russia at that time (Lavrov later transferred two following works by Tsiolkovsky). “The Theory of Gases” was written by Tsiolkovsky based on the books he had. Tsiolkovsky independently developed the foundations of the kinetic theory of gases. The article was reviewed, and Professor P. P. Fan der Fleet expressed his opinion about the study:
Although the article itself does not represent anything new and the conclusions in it are not entirely accurate, nevertheless it reveals great abilities and hard work in the author, since the author was not brought up in an educational institution and owes his knowledge exclusively to himself... In view of this, it is desirable to promote further author's self-education...
The society decided to petition... for the transfer of Mr. Tsiolkovsky... to a city in which he could do scientific research.
Soon Tsiolkovsky received an answer from Mendeleev: the kinetic theory of gases was discovered 25 years ago. This fact became an unpleasant discovery for Konstantin; the reasons for his ignorance were isolation from the scientific community and lack of access to modern scientific literature. Despite the failure, Tsiolkovsky continued his research. The second scientific work transferred to the Russian Federal Chemical Society was the 1882 article “Mechanics like a variable organism.” Professor Anatoly Bogdanov called studying the “mechanics of the animal body” “madness.” Ivan Sechenov’s review was generally approving, but the work was not allowed to be published:
Tsiolkovsky's work undoubtedly proves his talent. The author agrees with French mechanistic biologists. It's a pity that it is not finished and not ready for printing...
The third work written in Borovsk and presented to the scientific community was the article “Duration of Radiation of the Sun” (1883), in which Tsiolkovsky described the mechanism of action of the star. He considered the Sun as an ideal gas ball, tried to determine the temperature and pressure at its center, and the lifetime of the Sun. Tsiolkovsky in his calculations used only the basic laws of mechanics (law of universal gravitation) and gas dynamics (Boyle-Mariotte law). The article was reviewed by Professor Ivan Borgman. According to Tsiolkovsky, he liked it, but since its original version contained practically no calculations, it “aroused mistrust.” Nevertheless, it was Borgman who proposed to publish the works presented by the teacher from Borovsk, which, however, was not done.
Members of the Russian Physicochemical Society unanimously voted to accept Tsiolkovsky into their ranks, as reported in a letter. However, Konstantin did not answer: “Naive savagery and inexperience,” he later lamented.
Tsiolkovsky’s next work, “Free Space,” 1883, was written in the form of a diary. This is a kind of thought experiment, the narrative is told on behalf of an observer located in free airless space and not experiencing the forces of attraction and resistance. Tsiolkovsky describes the sensations of such an observer, his capabilities and limitations in movement and manipulation of various objects. He analyzes the behavior of gases and liquids in “free space”, the functioning of various devices, and the physiology of living organisms - plants and animals. The main result of this work can be considered the principle first formulated by Tsiolkovsky about the only possible method of movement in “free space” - jet propulsion:
...In general, uniform motion along a curve or rectilinear uneven motion is associated in free space with a continuous loss of matter (support). Also, broken movement is associated with periodic loss of matter...
Metal airship theory. Society of Natural History Lovers. Russian Technical Society
One of the main problems that occupied Tsiolkovsky almost from the time he arrived in Borovsk was the theory of balloons. Soon he realized that this was the task that deserved the most attention:
In 1885, at the age of 28, I firmly decided to devote myself to aeronautics and theoretically develop a metal controllable balloon.
Tsiolkovsky developed a balloon of his own design, which resulted in the voluminous work “Theory and experience of a balloon having an elongated shape in the horizontal direction” (1885-1886). It provided scientific and technical justification for the creation of a completely new and original airship design with a thin metal shell. Tsiolkovsky provided drawings common types balloon and some important components of its design. The main features of the airship developed by Tsiolkovsky:
- The volume of the shell was variable, which made it possible to maintain a constant lifting force at different flight altitudes and the temperature of the atmospheric air surrounding the airship. This possibility was achieved due to corrugated sidewalls and a special tightening system.
- Tsiolkovsky avoided the use of explosive hydrogen; his airship was filled with hot air. The lifting height of the airship could be adjusted using a separately developed heating system. The air was heated by passing engine exhaust gases through coils.
- The thin metal shell was also corrugated, which increased its strength and stability. The corrugation waves were located perpendicular to the axis of the airship.
While working on this manuscript, Tsiolkovsky was visited by P. M. Golubitsky, already a well-known inventor in the field of telephony by that time. He invited Tsiolkovsky to go with him to Moscow and introduce himself to the famous Sofia Kovalevskaya, who had arrived briefly from Stockholm. However, Tsiolkovsky, by his own admission, did not dare to accept the offer: “My squalor and the resulting savagery prevented me from doing this. I didn't go. Maybe it's for the best."
Having refused a trip to Golubitsky, Tsiolkovsky took advantage of his other offer - he wrote a letter to Moscow, professor of Moscow University A.G. Stoletov, in which he spoke about his airship. Soon a reply letter arrived with an offer to speak at the Moscow Polytechnic Museum at a meeting of the Physics Department of the Society of Natural History Lovers.
In April 1887, Tsiolkovsky arrived in Moscow and, after a lengthy search, found the museum building. His report was entitled “On the possibility of building a metal balloon capable of changing its volume and even folding into a plane.” I didn’t have to read the report itself, just explain the main points. The listeners reacted favorably to the speaker, there were no fundamental objections, and several simple questions were asked. After the report was completed, an offer was made to help Tsiolkovsky settle in Moscow, but no real help was forthcoming. On the advice of Stoletov, Konstantin Eduardovich handed over the manuscript of the report to N. E. Zhukovsky.
In his memoirs, Tsiolkovsky also mentions his acquaintance during this trip with famous teacher A.F. Malinin, author of textbooks on mathematics: “I considered his textbooks excellent and am very indebted to him.” They talked about aeronautics, but Tsiolkovsky failed to convince Malinin of the reality of creating a controlled airship. After returning from Moscow, there was a long break in his work on the airship, associated with illness, travel, restoration of the economy and scientific materials lost in the fire and flood.
Model of a balloon shell made of corrugated metal (house-museum of K. E. Tsiolkovsky in Borovsk, 2007)
In 1889, Tsiolkovsky continued work on his airship. Considering the failure in the Society of Natural History Lovers as a consequence of insufficient elaboration of his first manuscript on the balloon, Tsiolkovsky wrote a new article “On the possibility of constructing a metal balloon” (1890) and, together with a paper model of his airship, sent it to D. I. Mendeleev in St. Petersburg. Mendeleev, at the request of Tsiolkovsky, transferred all the materials to the Imperial Russian Technical Society (IRTO), V. I. Sreznevsky. Tsiolkovsky asked scientists to “help morally and morally as much as possible,” and also to allocate funds for the creation of a metal model of the balloon - 300 rubles. On October 23, 1890, at a meeting of the VII Department of the IRTS, Tsiolkovsky’s request was considered. The conclusion was given by military engineer E. S. Fedorov, a staunch supporter of heavier-than-air aircraft. Second opponent, boss of the first " HR team military aeronauts” A.M. Kovanko, like most of the other listeners, also denied the feasibility of devices like the one proposed. At this meeting, the IRTS decided:
- It is very likely that the balloons will be metal.
- Tsiolkovsky may, over time, provide significant services to aeronautics.
- Still, it is still very difficult to arrange metal balloons. A balloon is a toy of the wind, and metal material is useless and inapplicable...
Provide moral support to Mr. Tsiolkovsky by informing him of the Department's opinion on his project. Reject the request for assistance for conducting experiments.
Despite the refusal of support, Tsiolkovsky sent a letter of gratitude to the IRTS. A small consolation was the message in Kaluga Provincial Gazette, and then in some other newspapers: News of the Day, Petersburg Newspaper, Russian Invalid about Tsiolkovsky’s report. These articles paid tribute to the originality of the idea and design of the balloon, and also confirmed the correctness of the calculations made. Tsiolkovsky uses his own funds to make small models of balloon shells (30x50 cm) from corrugated metal and wire models of the frame (30x15 cm) to prove, including to himself, the possibility of using metal.
In 1891, Tsiolkovsky made one last attempt to protect his airship in the eyes of the scientific community. He wrote a large work, “Controllable Metal Balloon,” in which he took into account Zhukovsky’s comments and wishes, and on October 16 he sent it, this time to Moscow, to A. G. Stoletova. There was no result again.
Then Konstantin Eduardovich turned to his friends for help and, using the funds raised, ordered the publication of a book at the Moscow printing house of M. G. Volchaninov. One of the donors was Konstantin Eduardovich’s school friend, the famous archaeologist A. A. Spitsyn, who was visiting the Tsiolkovskys at that time and conducting research on ancient human sites in the area of the St. Pafnutiev Borovsky Monastery and at the mouth of the Isterma River. The publication of the book was carried out by Tsiolkovsky’s friend, teacher at the Borovsky School S.E. Chertkov. The book was published after Tsiolkovsky's transfer to Kaluga in two editions: the first - in 1892; the second - in 1893.
Other jobs. The first science fiction work. First publications
In 1887, Tsiolkovsky wrote a short story “On the Moon” - his first science fiction work. The story in many ways continues the traditions of “Free Space”, but is presented in a more artistic form and has a complete, albeit very conventional, plot. Two nameless heroes - the author and his physicist friend - unexpectedly end up on the moon. The main and only task of the work is to describe the impressions of the observer located on its surface. Tsiolkovsky’s story is distinguished by its persuasiveness, the presence of numerous details, and rich literary language:
Gloomy picture! Even the mountains are naked, shamelessly stripped, since we do not see a light veil on them - a transparent bluish haze that the air casts over the earth’s mountains and distant objects... Strict, amazingly distinct landscapes! And the shadows! Oh, how dark! And what sharp transitions from darkness to light! There are no those soft shimmers to which we are so accustomed and which only the atmosphere can give. Even the Sahara would seem like paradise in comparison with what we saw here.
K. E. Tsiolkovsky. On the moon. Chapter 1.
In addition to the lunar landscape, Tsiolkovsky describes the view of the sky and luminaries (including the Earth) observed from the surface of the Moon. He analyzed in detail the consequences of low gravity, the absence of an atmosphere, and other features of the Moon (speed of rotation around the Earth and the Sun, constant orientation relative to the Earth).
“...we watched an eclipse...” Rice. A. Hoffman
Tsiolkovsky “observes” a solar eclipse (the disk of the Sun is completely hidden by the Earth):
On the Moon it is a frequent and grandiose phenomenon... The shadow covers either the entire Moon, or in most cases a significant part of its surface, so that complete darkness lasts for whole hours...
The sickle has become even narrower and, along with the Sun, is barely noticeable...
The sickle became completely invisible...
It was as if someone on one side of the star had flattened its luminous mass with an invisible giant finger.
Only half of the Sun is already visible.
Finally, the last particle of him disappeared, and everything was plunged into darkness. A huge shadow came running and covered us.
But blindness quickly disappears: we see the moon and many stars.
The moon has the shape of a dark circle, engulfed in a magnificent crimson glow, especially bright, although pale on the side where the rest of the Sun has disappeared.
I see the colors of dawn that we once admired from Earth.
And the surroundings are filled with crimson, as if with blood.
K. E. Tsiolkovsky. On the moon. Chapter 4.
The story also talks about the expected behavior of gases and liquids and measuring instruments. The features of physical phenomena are described: heating and cooling of surfaces, evaporation and boiling of liquids, combustion and explosions. Tsiolkovsky makes a number of deliberate assumptions in order to demonstrate lunar realities. Thus, the heroes, once on the Moon, do without air; the lack of atmospheric pressure does not affect them in any way - they do not experience any particular inconvenience while being on the surface of the Moon. The denouement is as conventional as the rest of the plot - the author wakes up on Earth and finds out that he was sick and in a lethargic sleep, which he informs his physicist friend about, surprising him with the details of his fantastic dream.
Over the last two years of living in Borovsk (1890-1891), Tsiolkovsky wrote several articles on various issues. Thus, during the period October 6, 1890 - May 18, 1891, based on experiments on air resistance, he wrote a large work “On the question of flying with wings.” The manuscript was handed over to A.G. Tsiolkovsky. Stoletov, he gave it to N.E. Zhukovsky for review, who wrote a restrained but quite favorable review:
The work of Mr. Tsiolkovsky makes a pleasant impression, since the author, using small means of analysis and cheap experiments, came to mostly correct results... The original research method, reasoning and witty experiments of the author are not without interest and, in any case, characterize him as a talented researcher... The author's reasoning in relation to the flight of birds and insects is correct and completely coincides with modern views on this subject.
Tsiolkovsky was asked to select a fragment from this manuscript and rework it for publication. This is how the article “The pressure of a liquid on a plane uniformly moving in it” appeared, in which Tsiolkovsky studied the movement of a round plate in an air flow, using his own theoretical model, an alternative to Newton’s, and also proposed the design of the simplest experimental installation - a “turntable”. In the second half of May, Tsiolkovsky wrote a short essay - “How to protect fragile and delicate things from shocks and blows.” These two works were sent to Stoletov and in the second half of 1891 they were published in the “Proceedings of the Department of Physical Sciences of the Society of Lovers of Natural History” (vol. IV), becoming the first publication of the works of K. E. Tsiolkovsky.
Family
House-Museum of K. E. Tsiolkovsky in Borovsk (former house M. I. Pomukhina)
In Borovsk, the Tsiolkovskys had four children: the eldest daughter Lyubov (1881) and sons Ignatius (1883), Alexander (1885) and Ivan (1888). The Tsiolkovskys lived poorly, but, according to the scientist himself, “they didn’t wear patches and never went hungry.” Konstantin Eduardovich spent most of his salary on books, physical and chemical instruments, tools, and reagents.
Over the years of living in Borovsk, the family was forced to change their place of residence several times - in the fall of 1883, they moved to Kaluzhskaya Street to the house of the sheep farmer Baranov. Since the spring of 1885 they lived in Kovalev’s house (on the same Kaluzhskaya street).
On April 23, 1887, the day Tsiolkovsky returned from Moscow, where he gave a report on a metal airship of his own design, a fire broke out in his house, in which manuscripts, models, drawings, a library, as well as all the Tsiolkovsky property, with the exception of a sewing machine, were lost. which they managed to throw through the window into the yard. This was the hardest blow for Konstantin Eduardovich; he expressed his thoughts and feelings in the manuscript “Prayer” (May 15, 1887).
Another move to the house of M.I. Polukhina on Kruglaya Street. On April 1, 1889, the Protva flooded, and the Tsiolkovskys’ house was flooded. Records and books were again damaged.
Since the autumn of 1889, the Tsiolkovskys lived in the house of the Molchanov merchants at 4 Molchanovskaya Street.
Relations with Borovsk residents
Tsiolkovsky developed friendly and even friendly relations with some residents of the city. His first senior friend after arriving in Borovsk was the school caretaker, Alexander Stepanovich Tolmachev, who unfortunately died in January 1881, a little later than Konstantin Eduardovich’s father. Among others are history and geography teacher Evgeny Sergeevich Eremeev and his wife’s brother Ivan Sokolov. Tsiolkovsky also maintained friendly relations with the merchant N.P. Glukharev, investigator N.K. Fetter, in whose house there was a home library, in the organization of which Tsiolkovsky also took part. Together with I.V. Shokin, Konstantin Eduardovich was interested in photography, making and flying kites from a cliff above the Tekizhensky ravine.
However, for most of his colleagues and residents of the city, Tsiolkovsky was an eccentric. At the school, he never took “tribute” from careless students, did not give paid additional lessons, had his own opinion on all issues, did not take part in feasts and parties and never celebrated anything himself, kept himself apart, was unsociable and unsociable. For all these “oddities,” his colleagues nicknamed him Zhelyabka and “suspected him of something that didn’t happen.” Tsiolkovsky interfered with them, irritated them. Colleagues, for the most part, dreamed of getting rid of him and twice reported Konstantin to the Director of public schools of the Kaluga province D. S. Unkovsky for his careless statements regarding religion. After the first denunciation, a request came about Tsiolkovsky’s trustworthiness, Evgraf Yegorovich (then Tsiolkovsky’s future father-in-law) and the school superintendent A.S. Tolmachev vouched for him. The second denunciation arrived after Tolmachev’s death, under his successor E.F. Filippov, a man unscrupulous in business and behavior, who had an extremely negative attitude towards Tsiolkovsky. The denunciation almost cost Tsiolkovsky his job; he had to go to Kaluga to give explanations, spending most of his monthly salary on the trip.
Residents of Borovsk also did not understand Tsiolkovsky and shunned him, laughed at him, some even feared him, calling him a “crazy inventor.” Tsiolkovsky’s eccentricities and his way of life, which was radically different from the way of life of the inhabitants of Borovsk, often caused bewilderment and irritation.
So, one day, with the help of a pantograph, Tsiolkovsky made a large paper hawk - a copy of a folding Japanese toy enlarged several times - painted it and launched it in the city, and residents mistook it for a real bird.
In winter, Tsiolkovsky loved to ski and skate. I came up with the idea of driving on a frozen river with the help of a “sail” umbrella. Soon I made a sleigh with a sail using the same principle:
Peasants traveled along the river. The horses were frightened by the rushing sail, the passers-by swore in obscene voices. But due to my deafness, I didn’t realize this for a long time.
From the autobiography of K. E. Tsiolkovsky
Tsiolkovsky, being a nobleman, was a member of the Noble Assembly of Borovsk, gave private lessons to the children of the Leader of the local nobility, Actual State Councilor D. Ya. Kurnosov, which protected him from further attacks by the caretaker Filippov. Thanks to this acquaintance, as well as success in teaching, Tsiolkovsky received the rank of provincial secretary (August 31, 1884), then collegiate secretary (November 8, 1885), and titular councilor (December 23, 1886). On January 10, 1889, Tsiolkovsky received the rank of collegiate assessor.
Transfer to Kaluga
On January 27, 1892, the director of public schools D.S. Unkovsky turned to the trustee of the Moscow educational district with a request to transfer “one of the most capable and diligent teachers” to the district school of the city of Kaluga. At this time, Tsiolkovsky continued his work on aerodynamics and the theory of vortices in various media, and also awaited the publication of the book “Controllable Metal Balloon” in the Moscow printing house. The decision to transfer was made on February 4. In addition to Tsiolkovsky, teachers moved from Borovsk to Kaluga: S. I. Chertkov, E. S. Eremeev, I. A. Kazansky, Doctor V. N. Ergolsky.
Kaluga (1892-1935)
It got dark when we entered Kaluga. After the deserted road, it was nice to look at the flashing lights and people. The city seemed huge to us... In Kaluga there were many cobbled streets, tall buildings and the ringing of many bells flowed. In Kaluga there were 40 churches with monasteries. There were 50 thousand inhabitants.
(From the memoirs of Lyubov Konstantinovna, the scientist’s daughter)
Tsiolkovsky lived in Kaluga for the rest of his life. Since 1892 he worked as a teacher of arithmetic and geometry at the Kaluga district school. Since 1899, he taught physics classes at the diocesan women's school, which was disbanded after the October Revolution. In Kaluga, Tsiolkovsky wrote his main works on cosmonautics, the theory of jet propulsion, space biology and medicine. He also continued work on the theory of a metal airship.
After completing teaching in 1921, Tsiolkovsky was assigned a personal lifetime pension. From that moment until his death, Tsiolkovsky was exclusively engaged in his research, dissemination of his ideas, and implementation of projects.
In Kaluga, the main philosophical works of K. E. Tsiolkovsky were written, the philosophy of monism was formulated, and articles were written about his vision of an ideal society of the future.
In Kaluga, the Tsiolkovskys had a son and two daughters. At the same time, it was here that the Tsiolkovskys had to endure the tragic death of many of their children: out of K. E. Tsiolkovsky’s seven children, five died during his lifetime.
In Kaluga, Tsiolkovsky met scientists A. L. Chizhevsky and Ya. I. Perelman, who became his friends and popularizers of his ideas, and later biographers.
The first years of life in Kaluga (1892-1902)
The Tsiolkovsky family arrived in Kaluga on February 4, settled in an apartment in the house of N.I. Timashova on Georgievskaya Street, rented in advance for them by E.S. Eremeev. Konstantin Eduardovich began teaching arithmetic and geometry at the Kaluga Diocesan School (in 1918-1921 - at the Kaluga Labor School).
Soon after his arrival, Tsiolkovsky met Vasily Assonov, a tax inspector, an educated, progressive, versatile man, fond of mathematics, mechanics and painting. Having read the first part of Tsiolkovsky’s book “Controllable Metal Balloon,” Assonov used his influence to organize a subscription to the second part of this work. This made it possible to collect the missing funds for its publication.
On August 8, 1892, the Tsiolkovskys had a son, Leonty, who died of whooping cough exactly a year later, on his first birthday. At this time there were holidays at the school and Tsiolkovsky spent the whole summer on the Sokolniki estate in Maloyaroslavets district with his old acquaintance D. Ya. Kurnosov (leader of the Borovsky nobility), where he gave lessons to his children. After the death of the child, Varvara Evgrafovna decided to change her apartment, and when Konstantin Eduardovich returned, the family moved to the Speransky house, located opposite, on the same street.
Assonov introduced Tsiolkovsky to the chairman of the Nizhny Novgorod circle of physics and astronomy lovers S.V. Shcherbakov. In the 6th issue of the circle’s collection, Tsiolkovsky’s article “Gravity as the main source of world energy” (1893) was published, developing ideas early work"Duration of the Sun's Radiation" (1883). The work of the circle was regularly published in the newly created journal “Science and Life”, and in the same year the text of this report was published in it, as well as a short article by Tsiolkovsky “Is a metal balloon possible”. On December 13, 1893, Konstantin Eduardovich was elected an honorary member of the circle.
Around the same time, Tsiolkovsky became friends with the Goncharov family. Kaluga Bank appraiser Alexander Nikolaevich Goncharov, nephew of the famous writer I. A. Goncharov, was a comprehensively educated person, knew several languages, corresponded with many prominent writers and public figures, and regularly published his works of art, devoted mainly to the theme of decline and degeneration Russian nobility. Goncharov decided to support the publication of Tsiolkovsky’s new book - a collection of essays “Dreams of Earth and Heaven” (1894), his second work of art, while Goncharov’s wife, Elizaveta Aleksandrovna, translated the article “An iron controlled balloon for 200 people, the length of a large sea steamer” into French and German languages and sent them to foreign magazines. However, when Konstantin Eduardovich wanted to thank Goncharov and, without his knowledge, placed on the cover of the book the inscription Publication by A. N. Goncharov, this led to a scandal and a break in relations between the Tsiolkovskys and the Goncharovs.
In Kaluga, Tsiolkovsky also did not forget about science, astronautics and aeronautics. He built a special installation that made it possible to measure some aerodynamic parameters of aircraft. Since the Physicochemical Society did not allocate a penny for his experiments, the scientist had to use family funds to conduct research. By the way, Tsiolkovsky built more than 100 experimental models at his own expense and tested them. After some time, society finally paid attention to the Kaluga genius and provided him with financial support - 470 rubles, with which Tsiolkovsky built a new, improved installation - a “blower”.
The study of the aerodynamic properties of bodies of various shapes and possible designs of aircraft gradually led Tsiolkovsky to think about options for flight in airless space and the conquest of space. In 1895, his book “Dreams of Earth and Sky” was published, and a year later an article was published about other worlds, intelligent beings from other planets and about the communication of earthlings with them. In the same year, 1896, Tsiolkovsky began writing his main work, “The Study of World Spaces with Reactive Instruments,” published in 1903. This book touched on the problems of using rockets in space.
In 1896-1898, the scientist took part in the Kaluzhsky Vestnik newspaper, which published both materials from Tsiolkovsky himself and articles about him.
Early 20th century (1902-1918)
The first fifteen years of the 20th century were the most difficult in the life of a scientist. In 1902, his son Ignatius committed suicide. In 1908, during the Oka flood, his house was flooded, many cars and exhibits were disabled, and numerous unique calculations were lost. On June 5, 1919, the Council of the Russian Society of Lovers of World Studies accepted K. E. Tsiolkovsky as a member and he, as a member of the scientific society, was awarded a pension. This saved him from starvation during the years of devastation, since on June 30, 1919, the Socialist Academy did not elect him as a member and thereby left him without a livelihood. The Physicochemical Society also did not appreciate the significance and revolutionary nature of the models presented by Tsiolkovsky. In 1923, his second son, Alexander, also committed suicide.
Arrest and Lubyanka
On November 17, 1919, five people raided the Tsiolkovskys’ house. After searching the house, they took the head of the family and brought him to Moscow, where he was imprisoned in Lubyanka. There he was interrogated for several weeks. According to some reports, a certain high-ranking official interceded on Tsiolkovsky’s behalf, as a result of which the scientist was released.
In 1918, Tsiolkovsky was elected one of the competing members of the Socialist Academy of Social Sciences (renamed the Communist Academy in 1924), and on November 9, 1921, the scientist was awarded a lifetime pension for services to domestic and world science. This pension was paid until September 19, 1935 - on that day Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky died of stomach cancer in his hometown of Kaluga.
Six days before his death, September 13, 1935, K. E. Tsiolkovsky wrote in a letter to I. V. Stalin:
Before the revolution, my dream could not come true. Only October brought recognition to the works of a self-taught man: only the Soviet government and the Lenin-Stalin party provided me with effective help. I felt the love of the people, and this gave me the strength to continue my work, already being sick... I pass on all my works on aviation, rocket navigation and interplanetary communications to the Bolshevik Party and the Soviet government - the true leaders of the progress of human culture. I am confident that they will successfully complete my work.
The letter from the outstanding scientist soon received an answer: “To the famous scientist, Comrade K. E. Tsiolkovsky. Please accept my gratitude for a letter full of confidence in the Bolshevik Party and Soviet power. I wish you health and further fruitful work for the benefit of the working people. I shake your hand. I. Stalin."
The next day, a decree of the Soviet government was published on measures to perpetuate the memory of the great Russian scientist and on the transfer of his works to the Main Directorate of Civil Air Fleet. Subsequently, by decision of the government, they were transferred to the USSR Academy of Sciences, where a special commission was created to develop the works of K. E. Tsiolkovsky. The commission distributed scientific works scientist by sections. The first volume contained all the works of K. E. Tsiolkovsky on aerodynamics; the second volume - works on jet aircraft; the third volume - works on all-metal airships, on increasing the energy of heat engines and various issues of applied mechanics, on the issues of watering deserts and cooling human habitations in them, the use of tides and waves and various inventions; the fourth volume included Tsiolkovsky’s works on astronomy, geophysics, biology, the structure of matter and other problems; finally, the fifth volume contains biographical materials and correspondence of the scientist.
In 1966, 31 years after the death of the scientist, the Orthodox priest Alexander Men performed the funeral ceremony over Tsiolkovsky’s grave.
Correspondence between Tsiolkovsky and Zabolotsky (since 1932)
In 1932, correspondence between Konstantin Eduardovich was established with one of the most talented “poets of Thought” of his time, seeking the harmony of the universe - Nikolai Alekseevich Zabolotsky. The latter, in particular, wrote to Tsiolkovsky: “...Your thoughts about the future of the Earth, humanity, animals and plants deeply concern me, and they are very close to me. In my unpublished poems and poems, I resolved them as best I could.” Zabolotsky told him about the hardships of his own searches aimed at the benefit of humanity: “It is one thing to know, and another to feel. The conservative feeling, nurtured in us for centuries, clings to our consciousness and prevents it from moving forward.” Tsiolkovsky’s natural philosophical research left an extremely significant imprint on the work of this author.
Scientific achievements
K. E. Tsiolkovsky claimed that he developed the theory of rocket science only as an application to his philosophical research. He wrote more than 400 works, most of which are little known to the general reader.
Tsiolkovsky's first scientific research dates back to 1880-1881. Not knowing about the discoveries already made, he wrote the work “Theory of Gases,” in which he outlined the foundations of the kinetic theory of gases. His second work, “Mechanics of the Animal Organism,” received a favorable review from I.M. Sechenov, and Tsiolkovsky was accepted into the Russian Physical and Chemical Society. Tsiolkovsky's main works after 1884 were associated with four major problems: scientific basis an all-metal balloon (airship), a streamlined airplane, a hovercraft and a rocket for interplanetary travel.
Date of birth: September 17, 1857
Date of death: September 19, 1935
Place of birth: the village of Izhevskoye, Ryazan Province.
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky- scientist and inventor. Tsiolkovsky Konstantin Eduardovich(Konstanty Ciołkowski) – pioneer in the field of space exploration, scientist. He is the “father” of modern astronautics. The first Russian scientist to become famous in the field of aeronautics and aeronautics. He believed in the possibility of establishing human settlements in space.
Konstantin first saw the light of day on September 17, 1857 in a little-known village, which was located near Ryazan. Tsiolkovsky's father served in forestry. Mother, Maria Yumasheva, came from small landed nobility, and, in accordance with the customs of that time, took care of the household.
At the beginning of 1868 she moved from the village to more Big City, Vyatka. Kostya began studying at the gymnasium. The boy had difficulty studying because he was deaf after scarlet fever. In 1873, the teenager stopped studying due to expulsion. The lack of schooling did not prevent him from studying the exact sciences all his life.
As a 16-year-old teenager, Konstantin goes to the capital. There he devoted himself to the altar of natural sciences and mechanics for several years. To be a full-fledged member of society, he uses a hearing aid. Studying, renting accommodation and food in Moscow were too much for young man in monetary terms. And in 1876, a young, well-educated scientist decides to return back to the province, to his father.
To support himself, the young man earns money by teaching algebra and geometry privately. The talented teacher did not experience a shortage of students, because... has proven itself to be excellent.
This experience was not in vain, because soon the scientist and his relatives moved to Ryazan. Here he finally receives a diploma, which allows him to start teaching in Borovsk.
The district school where Tsiolkovsky taught was located far from St. Petersburg and Moscow, centers of science. Despite this, Konstantin begins scientific work in the field of aerodynamics. He is the creator of the kinetic theory. He sends the figures obtained as a result of the experiments to the Russian Phys.-Chem. society. The response letter from Mendeleev shocks him - it turns out that this discovery had already been made a quarter of a century ago. But Konstantin’s calculations were appreciated in St. Petersburg.
At the beginning of the 19th century, a promising scientist went to live in Kaluga. He teaches and continues to work in aerospace and astronautics. It was here that he built a tunnel in which the aerodynamic features of the constructed devices could be tested. All this costs money, and Konstantin turns to the Physics and Chemical Society with a request for funding. Receives a refusal and spends family savings on his work. Money was spent on the construction of about a hundred prototypes. Having learned about this, the Society allocates almost 500 rubles to the researcher. The scientist invested all this money into improving the properties of the tunnel.
Space irresistibly attracts Tsiolkovsky, he writes a lot. Begins fundamental work on "Exploration of outer space using a jet engine."
The early 1900s brought a lot of troubles. In 1902, the scientist’s son, Ignat, committed suicide. After 5 years, the Oka overflowed its banks, flooding those in the only instance unique cars and the scientist's calculations. The Physics and Chemical Society remained indifferent to the work and problems of Konstantin Eduardovich, and did not allocate a penny to continue the work.
After the advent of Soviet power, Tsiolkovsky received salary from the Russian Society of World Studies Lovers. It came as a surprise to everyone that two years after the revolution the scientist was arrested. By a lucky coincidence, someone from the top of the party stood up for him and the scientist was released.
In 1921, the space explorer finally received the recognition he deserved from the new authorities. He is given a lifetime allowance.
In September 1935, Konstantin Eduardovich died from a malignant disease.
Achievements of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky:
More than 400 works on the theory of rocket construction.
Seriously engaged in the study of real interstellar travel.
A controllable balloon, an airship made of solid metal, was developed by Tsiolkovsky.
He justified that only rockets are capable of comic travel.
Developed the launch of a rocket from an inclined level. This development was used in Katyusha-type artillery mounts.
He proposed a new design for an engine with gas turbine traction.
Dates of the biography of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky:
September 17, 1857 - born in Ryazan Province.
In 1880 he got married in church to V. Sokolova.
In the period from 1880 to 1883 he published scientific works “Duration of Radiation of the Sun”, “Mechanics of a Likely Changing Organism”, “Free Space”. He began teaching at the district school.
1896 began to study the dynamics of rocket motion.
In the period from 1909 to 1911, he received official patents related to the construction of airships in the countries of the Old and New Worlds and Russia.
1918 Becomes a member of the Socialist Academy of Social Sciences. Continues teaching at the Kaluga Unified Labor Soviet School.
1919 The commission does not accept the airship project for armament Soviet army. He wrote the autobiography “Fate, Fate, Destiny.” Spent several weeks in prison at Lubyanka.
1929 met with a colleague in rocket science, Sergei Korolev.
On September 19, 1935, he died from a malignant disease.
Interesting facts of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky:
Inspired by the ideas of the great inventor, A. Belyaev wrote a novel in the science fiction genre called “KETS Star”.
As a 14-year-old teenager, he made a lathe. A year later I made a balloon.
The only thing that survived the fire in Tsiolkovsky's house was a sewing machine.
> > Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Biography of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935)
Short biography:
Place of Birth: Izhevskoe,
Ryazan province,
Russian empire
A place of death: Kaluga, RSFSR, USSR
– Soviet scientist and inventor: biography with photos, contributions to science and culture, the first model of a rocket, aerodynamic experiments.
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was a Russian scientist involved in aeronautics, aerodynamics and astronautics, who invented the rocket and explored space. Tsiolkovsky - developer of the first model of a rocket for space flight. But its life ended before launch.
The birthplace of Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky was Izhevsk. His father, Eduard Ignatievich, was known as a Polish nobleman with average income, and his mother, Maria Ivanovna Yumasheva, was of Tatar origin. The future scientist inherited an “explosive mixture” of genes. Nine-year-old Kostya Tsiolkovsky was struck by scarlet fever, and its complications led to deafness.
After the lapse of four years he lost his mother. These two tragedies were destined to play a decisive role in shaping the life scenario of Constantine. The future scientist had to engage in self-education at home, which led to the development of isolation in the child. He was only friends with books. He became very interested in mathematics, physics and space. 16-year-old Tsiolkovsky in Moscow had to study chemistry, mathematics, astronomy and mechanics for three years.
Communication with others was carried out using a special hearing aid. But the cost of Moscow life was quite high and Tsiolkovsky, despite all his efforts, was unable to obtain sufficient funds, and in 1876, at the insistence of his father, he found himself in Vyatka. After passing the exams and receiving a teaching diploma, he began teaching. The Borovsk school, where he worked, was located a hundred kilometers from Belokamennaya. In Borovsk he had the chance to get married; Varvara Efgrafovna Sokolova became his wife.
Russian scientific centers were far away, deafness did not leave, but this did not stop Tsiolkovsky from engaging in independent aerodynamic research. First, he developed the kinetic theory of gases. In response to his message with calculations to the Russian Physicochemical Society, Mendeleev said that this theory had already been discovered a quarter of a century ago. Tsiolkovsky managed to survive this blow and not stop researching. Petersburg drew attention to the gifted and extraordinary Vyatka teacher, he received an offer of membership in the above-mentioned society.
Since 1892, Kaluga became the place of work of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. The teacher's studies in science, astronautics and aeronautics continued. At the new location, Tsiolkovsky constructed a special tunnel to measure various aerodynamic parameters that characterize aircraft. The Physicochemical Society did not allocate any funds for the experiments; the scientist continued his research using family savings. Tsiolkovsky's money went towards experimental models (over 100) and their testing. When the society finally allocated financial support to the Kaluga genius in the amount of 470 rubles, Tsiolkovsky carried out the construction of a new, improved tunnel.
Aerodynamic experiments increased Tsiolkovsky's interest in space problems. 1895 was the year of publication of his “Dreams of Earth and Sky”; the next year he published an article devoted to other worlds, intelligent beings inhabiting other planets, and their communication with earthlings. At the same time, Tsiolkovsky began writing “Exploration of outer space using a jet engine.” The book, which became the scientist’s main work, was devoted to problems associated with the use of rocket engines in outer space - navigation mechanisms, fuel supply and transportation, etc.
The first fifteen years of the twentieth century can be said to be the most difficult years lived by a scientist. 1902 was the year of the suicide of his son Ignatius. In 1908, the Oka overflowed so much that a house was flooded, which led to the loss of many cars, exhibits and unique calculations. The Physicochemical Society did not give a proper assessment of the significance and revolutionary nature that were inherent in Tsiolkovsky’s iron models.
The Bolsheviks, having gained power, changed the situation to some extent - new government became interested in the scientist’s developments, which resulted in the provision of significant material support to Tsiolkovsky. The year 1919 brought Tsiolkovsky election as a member of the Socialist Academy (later to become the USSR Academy of Sciences); from November 9, 1921, the scientist received a lifelong pension, as a person who enriched domestic and world science. This pension was paid until September 19, 1935 - the day of death greatest man, Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky. The place of death was the scientist’s native Kaluga.