Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky. Short biography. Brief biography of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. Interesting facts and photos

SIBERIAN STATE GEODETIC ACADEMY

Institute of Geodesy and Management

Department of Astronomy and Gravimetry

Abstract on the discipline “General astronomy”

"Tsiolkovsky. Biography and main scientific works»

Novosibirsk 2010

Introduction

1. Childhood and self-education K.E. Tsiolkovsky

2. Scientific works

3. Scientific achievements

4. Tsiolkovsky as an opponent of Einstein's theory of relativity

5. Tsiolkovsky's awards and perpetuation of his memory

Conclusion

List of used literature

Introduction

I chose this topic, because Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky is a scientist with capital letters. His scientific works have been studied and will be studied for a long time to come. Tsiolkovsky made a great contribution to the development of the natural sciences, so such a person cannot be ignored. He is an author on aerodynamics, aeronautics and many others. Representative of Russian cosmism, member of the Russian Society of Lovers of the World. The author of science fiction works, a supporter and propagandist of the idea of ​​space exploration using orbital stations, put forward the idea of ​​a space elevator. He believed that the development of life on one of the planets of the Universe would reach such power and perfection that it would make it possible to overcome the forces of gravity and spread life throughout the Universe.

Childhood and self-education K.E. Tsiolkovsky

Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky was born on September 5, 1857, in the family of a Polish nobleman who served in the department of state property, in the village of Izhevskoye 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.

In Izhevsk, Konstantin had a chance to live for a very short time - the first three years of his life, and he had almost no memories of this period. Eduard Ignatievich (Konstantin's father) started having troubles in the service - the authorities were dissatisfied with his liberal attitude towards local peasants. In 1860, Konstantin's father received a transfer to Ryazan to the position of clerk of the Forest Department, and soon began to teach natural history in the land surveying and taxation classes of the Ryazan gymnasium and received a chintitular adviser.

The mother was involved in the primary education of Tsiolkovsky and his brothers. It was she who taught Konstantin to read (moreover, his mother taught him only the alphabet, and how to add words from letters Tsiolkovsky guessed himself), write, introduced him to the basics of arithmetic.

At the age of 9, Tsiolkovsky, sledding in the winter, caught a cold and fell ill with scarlet fever. As a result of a complication after an illness, he lost his hearing. Then came what later Konstantin Eduardovich called "the saddest, darkest time of my life." At this time, Tsiolkovsky for the first time begins to show interest in craftsmanship.

In 1868 the Tsiolkovsky family moved to Vyatka. In 1869, together with his younger brother Ignatius, he entered the first class of the male Vyatka gymnasium. The study was given with great difficulty, there were many subjects, the teachers were strict. The deafness was very disturbing. In the same year, sad news came from St. Petersburg - the elder brother Dmitry, who studied at the Naval School, died. This death shocked the whole family, but especially Maria Ivanovna. In 1870, Kostya's mother, whom he dearly loved, died unexpectedly. Grief crushed the orphaned boy. Even without that he did not shine with success in his studies, oppressed by the misfortunes that fell on him, Kostya studied worse and worse. Much more acutely did he feel his deafness, which made him more and more isolated. For pranks, he was repeatedly punished, ended up in a punishment cell.

In the second grade, Tsiolkovsky remained for the second year, and expulsion followed from the third. After that, Konstantin Eduardovich never studied anywhere - he studied exclusively on his own. Books become the boy's only friends. Unlike gymnasium teachers, books generously endow him with knowledge and never make the slightest reproach.

At the same time, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky joined the technical and scientific creativity. He made his own homemade lathe, self-propelled carriages and locomotives. He was fond of tricks, thought about the project of a car with wings.

For the father, the abilities of his son become obvious, and he decides to send the boy to Moscow to continue his education. Every day from 10 am to 3-4 pm, the young man studies science in the Chertkovo public library - the only free library in Moscow at that time.

Work in the library was subject to a clear schedule. In the morning, Konstantin was engaged in precise and natural sciences requiring concentration and clarity of mind. Then he switched to simpler material: fiction and journalism. Actively studied "thick" journals, where they were published as reviews science articles and publicistic ones. He enthusiastically read Shakespeare, Leo Tolstoy, Turgenev, admired the articles of Dmitry Pisarev: “Pisarev made me tremble with joy and happiness. In him I saw then my second “I”. During the first year of his life in Moscow, Tsiolkovsky studied physics and the beginnings of mathematics. In 1874, the Chertkovskaya Library moved to the building of the Rumyantsev Museum. In the new reading room, Konstantin studies differential and integral calculus, higher algebra, and analytic and spherical geometry. Then astronomy, mechanics, chemistry. For three years, Konstantin fully mastered the gymnasium program, as well as a significant part of the university one. Unfortunately, his father was no longer able to pay for his accommodation in Moscow, and besides, he felt unwell and was going to retire. With the knowledge gained, Konstantin could already begin independent work in the provinces, as well as continue their education outside of Moscow. In the autumn of 1876, Eduard Ignatievich called his son back to Vyatka, and Konstantin returned home.

Konstantin returned to Vyatka weakened, emaciated and emaciated. Difficult living conditions in Moscow, hard work also led to a deterioration in vision. After returning home, Tsiolkovsky began to wear glasses. Having regained his strength, Konstantin began to give private lessons in physics and mathematics. I learned my first lesson through my father's connections in a liberal society. Having shown himself to be a talented teacher, in the future he 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 conducted numerous experiments in physics lessons, which earned him the fame of a teacher who explains the material well and clearly, in the classroom with whom it is always interesting . He spent all his free time in it or in the library. I read a lot - special literature, fiction, journalism. According to his autobiography, at that time he read The Beginnings by Isaac Newton, whose scientific views Tsiolkovsky adhered to throughout his later life.

At the end of 1876, Konstantin's younger brother Ignatius died. The brothers were very close from childhood, Konstantin trusted Ignatius with his innermost thoughts, and the death of his brother was a heavy blow. By 1877, Eduard Ignatievich was already very weak and ill, tragic death wife and children (except for the sons of Dmitry and Ignatius during these years, the Tsiolkovskys lost the most youngest daughter- Ekaterina - she died in 1875, during the absence of Konstantin), the head of the family retired. In 1878 the entire Tsiolkovsky family returned to Ryazan.

Scientific works

The very first work of Tsiolkovsky was devoted to mechanics in biology. She became the article written in 1880 "Graphic representation of sensations." In it, Tsiolkovsky developed the pessimistic theory of the “disturbed zero”, characteristic of him at that time, and mathematically substantiated the idea of ​​the meaninglessness of human life. Tsiolkovsky sent this article to the Russian Thought magazine, but it was not printed there and the manuscript was not returned. Tsiolkovsky switched to other topics.

In 1881, Tsiolkovsky wrote his first genuine scientific work, The Theory of Gases. Tsiolkovsky independently developed the foundations of the kinetic theory of gases.

Although the article itself did not represent anything new and the conclusions in it are not entirely accurate, nevertheless, it reveals great abilities and diligence in the author, since the author was not brought up in educational institution and I owe my knowledge solely to myself ...

The second scientific work was the article of 1882 "Mechanics of a similarly variable organism".

The third work was the article "Duration of the Sun's Radiation" in 1883, in which Tsiolkovsky described the mechanism of action of a star. He considered the Sun as an ideal gaseous sphere, 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 and gases.

Tsiolkovsky's next work, "Free Space" in 1883, was written in the form of a diary. This is a kind of thought experiment, the narration is conducted on behalf of an observer who is in a free airless space and does not experience the forces of attraction and resistance. Tsiolkovsky describes the sensations of such an observer, his possibilities and limitations in movement and manipulation with various objects. He analyzes the behavior of gases and liquids in "free space", the functioning of various devices, the physiology of living organisms - plants and animals. The main result of this work can be considered the first formulated by Tsiolkovsky principle of uniquely possible method movement in "free space" - jet propulsion.

In 1885, 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. It provided a scientific and technical justification for the creation of a completely new and original design of an airship with a thin metal shell. Tsiolkovsky gave drawings of general views of the 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 lift at different flight altitudes and temperatures. atmospheric air surrounding the airship.

Tsiolkovsky abandoned the use of explosive hydrogen, his airship was filled with hot air. The height of the airship could be adjusted using a separately developed heating system.

The thin metal shell was also corrugated, which made it possible to increase its strength and stability.

In 1887, Tsiolkovsky wrote a short story "On the Moon" - his first science fiction work. The story largely continues the traditions of "Free Space", but is clothed in a more artistic form, has a complete, albeit very conditional, plot. Two nameless heroes - the author and his friend - unexpectedly end up on the moon. The main and only task of the work is to describe the impressions of the observer who is on its surface.

Tsiolkovsky describes the view of the sky and the luminaries 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 (the speed of rotation around the Earth and the Sun, constant orientation relative to the Earth). The story also tells about the alleged behavior of gases and liquids, measuring instruments.

In the period from October 6, 1890 - May 18, 1891, based on experiments on air resistance, Tsiolkovsky wrote big job"On the Question of Flying with Wings". The manuscript was handed over to A.G. Stoletov, who gave it to N.E. Zhukovsky, who wrote a restrained but quite favorable review.

In February 1894, Konstantin Eduardovich wrote the work "Airplane or bird-like (aircraft) machine." In it, he gave a diagram of the aerodynamic balances he designed.

He also built special installation, which allows you to measure some aerodynamic indicators aircraft.

The study of the aerodynamic properties of bodies various shapes and possible schemes of airborne vehicles gradually led Tsiolkovsky to think about options for flight in vacuum and the conquest of space. In 1895, his book "Dreams of the Earth and Sky" was published, and a year later an article was published on other worlds, sentient beings from other planets and about the communication of earthlings with them.

In 1896, Konstantin Eduardovich began to write his main work, "The study of world spaces by reactive devices." In 1903, in the journal "Scientific Review" K.E. Tsiolkovsky published this work "in which for the first time the possibility of space flights using liquid-propellant rockets was scientifically substantiated and the main calculation formulas for their flight were given. Konstantin Eduardovich was the first in the history of science who rigorously formulated and researched rectilinear motion rockets as bodies of variable mass.

The discovery of K.E. Tsiolkovsky indicated the main ways to improve rockets: increasing the speed of gas outflow and increasing the relative fuel reserve. The second part of the work "Investigation of world spaces by reactive devices" was published in 1911-1912. in the journal "Bulletin of Aeronautics". In 1914, an addition to the first and second parts of the work of the same title was published as a separate pamphlet in the author's edition. In 1926, the work "Investigation of the World Spaces by Reactive Instruments" was republished with some additions and changes. A feature of the creative method of the scientist was the unity of scientific and theoretical research and the analysis and development of possible ways of their practical implementation. KE Tsiolkovsky scientifically substantiated the problems associated with rocket space flight. He examined in detail everything related to a rocket (single- and multi-stage): the laws of rocket motion, the principle of its design, energy issues, control, testing, ensuring the reliability of systems, creating acceptable habitability conditions, and even selecting a psychologically compatible crew. Tsiolkovsky did not limit himself to pointing out the means of penetration of man into space - a rocket, but also gave detailed description engine. His ideas about the choice of a liquid two-component fuel, regenerative cooling of the combustion chamber and engine nozzle with fuel components, ceramic insulation of structural elements, separate storage and pumping of fuel components into the combustion chamber, and thrust vector control by turning the outlet part of the nozzle and gas rudders turned out to be prophetic. Konstantin Eduardovich also thought about the possibility of using other types of fuel, in particular, the energy of the decay of atoms. He expressed this idea in 1911. In the same year, K.E. Tsiolkovsky put forward the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bcreating electric jet engines, indicating that "perhaps with the help of electricity it will be possible in time to give tremendous speed to particles ejected from a jet device."

The scientist considered many specific questions regarding the device spaceship. In 1926, K.E. Tsiolkovsky proposed the use of a two-stage rocket to achieve the first cosmic speed, and in 1929, in his work "Space Rocket Trains", he gave a harmonious mathematical theory of a multi-stage rocket. In 1934-1935. in the manuscript "Fundamentals of Construction of Gas Engines, Motors and Aircraft" proposed another way to achieve space speeds, called the "rocket squadron". The scientist attached particular importance to the problem of creating interplanetary stations. In solving this problem, he saw the possibility of realizing the long-standing dream of man conquering the near-solar space, creating "ethereal settlements" in the future. K.E. Tsiolkovsky outlined a grandiose plan for the conquest of world spaces, which is currently being successfully implemented.

Tsiolkovsky interplanetary rocket science aerodynamics

Scientific achievements

K.E. Tsiolkovsky claimed that he developed the theory of rocket science only as an appendix to his philosophical research. He wrote more than 400 works, most of which are little known to the general reader due to their dubious value.

First Scientific research Tsiolkovsky belong to 1880 - 1881. Not knowing about the discoveries already made, he wrote the work "The Theory of Gases", in which he outlined the foundations of the kinetic theory of gases. Echoing his work - "The Mechanics of the Animal Organism" received a favorable review from I.M. Sechenov, and Tsiolkovsky was admitted to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society.

The main works of Tsiolkovsky after 1884 were associated with four major problems: the scientific justification of an all-metal balloon (airship), a streamlined airplane, an air cushion train, and a rocket for interplanetary travel.

In his apartment he created the first aerodynamic laboratory in Russia. Tsiolkovsky built in 1897 the first wind tunnel in Russia with an open working part, developed an experimental technique in it, and in 1900, on a subsidy from the Academy of Sciences, made blowing through the simplest models. He determined the drag coefficient of a ball, a flat plate, a cylinder, a cone and other bodies. Tsiolkovsky described the flow of air around bodies of various geometric shapes.

Tsiolkovsky was engaged in the mechanics of controlled flight, as a result of which he designed a controlled balloon. Konstantin Eduardovich was the first to propose the idea of ​​an all-metal airship and built its model. The Tsiolkovsky airship project, progressive for its time, was not supported; the author was denied a grant to build the model.

In 1892 he turned to the new and little explored field of heavier-than-air aircraft. Tsiolkovsky came up with the idea of ​​building an airplane with a metal frame.

Since 1896, Tsiolkovsky systematically studied the theory of the movement of jet vehicles. Thoughts on the use of the rocket principle in space were expressed by Tsiolkovsky as early as 1883, but a rigorous theory of jet propulsion was presented by him in 1896. Tsiolkovsky derived a formula (it was called the "Tsiolkovsky formula") that established the relationship between:

The speed of the rocket at any moment;

fuel specific impulse;

The mass of the rocket at the initial and final moment of time

In 1903, he published the article "Investigation of the World Spaces with Reactive Instruments", where he proved for the first time that a rocket is an apparatus capable of making a space flight. In this article and its sequels (1911 and 1914) he developed some ideas of the theory of rockets and the use of a liquid rocket engine.

The result of the first publication was not at all what Konstantin Eduardovich expected. Neither compatriots nor foreign scientists appreciated the research that science is proud of today. It was simply ahead of its time by an era. In 1911, the second part of the work was published. Tsiolkovsky calculates the work to overcome the force of gravity, determines the speed required for the apparatus to enter the solar system (“second space velocity”) and the flight time. This time the article made a lot of noise in scientific world. Tsiolkovsky made many friends in the world of science.

In 1926 - 1929, Tsiolkovsky solves a practical question: how much fuel should be taken into a rocket in order to obtain a liftoff speed and leave the Earth. It turned out that the final speed of the rocket depends on the speed of the gases flowing out of it and on how many times the weight of the fuel exceeds the weight of the empty rocket.

Tsiolkovsky put forward a number of ideas that have found application in rocket science. They proposed: gas rudders (made of graphite) to control the flight of a rocket and change the trajectory of its center of mass; the use of propellant components for cooling the outer shell of the spacecraft (during entry into the Earth's atmosphere), the walls of the combustion chamber and the nozzle; pumping system for supplying fuel components; optimal descent trajectories of a spacecraft upon return from space, etc. In the field of rocket propellants, Tsiolkovsky investigated a large number of different oxidizers and fuels; recommended fuel vapors; liquid oxygen with hydrogen, oxygen with carbons. Konstantin Eduardovich worked a lot and fruitfully on the creation of a theory of the flight of jet aircraft, invented his own scheme of a gas turbine engine; in 1927 he published the theory and scheme of the hovercraft. He was the first to propose "retractable under the body" chassis. Space flights and airship building were the main problems to which he devoted his life.

Tsiolkovsky defended the idea of ​​a variety of life forms in the Universe, was the first theorist and propagandist of human space exploration.

Tsiolkovsky as an opponent of Einstein's theory of relativity

Tsiolkovsky was skeptical about Albert Einstein's theory of relativity.

He denied the theory of the expanding Universe on the basis of spectroscopic observations (red shift) according to E. Hubble, considering this shift to be a consequence of other reasons. In particular, he explained the redshift by the slowing down of the speed of light in the cosmic environment, caused by "an obstacle from the side of ordinary matter scattered everywhere in space", and pointing out the dependence: "the faster the apparent movement, the farther the nebula (galaxy)".

Regarding the limitation on the speed of light according to Einstein, Tsiolkovsky wrote in the same article:

“The second conclusion of his: the speed cannot exceed the speed of light, that is, 300 thousand kilometers per second. These are the same six days allegedly used to create the world.

Denied Tsiolkovsky and time dilation in the theory of relativity:

“The slowdown of time in ships flying at subluminal speed compared to earth time is either a fantasy or one of the regular mistakes of a non-philosophical mind. … Time slowdown! Understand what wild nonsense is contained in these words!

With bitterness and indignation, Tsiolkovsky spoke of "multi-story hypotheses", in the foundation of which there is nothing but purely mathematical exercises, although curious, but representing nonsense.

He claimed:

“Successfully developed and not met with due rebuff, senseless theories won a temporary victory, which, however, they celebrate with unusually magnificent solemnity!”

Tsiolkovsky's awards and perpetuation of his memory

Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd class. For conscientious work presented for an award in May 1906, issued in August.

Order of Saint Anne, 3rd class. Awarded in May 1911 for conscientious work, at the request of the council of the Kaluga Diocesan Women's School.

For special merits in the field of inventions of great importance for the economic power and defense of the USSR, Tsiolkovsky was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor in 1932. The award is dedicated to the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the scientist.

On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Tsiolkovsky in 1954, the Academy of Sciences of the USSR established a gold medal to them. K. E. Tsiolkovsky "3a outstanding work in the field of interplanetary communications."

Monuments to the scientist were erected in Kaluga and Moscow; a memorial house-museum was created in Kaluga, a house-museum in Borovsk and a house-museum in Kirov (former Vyatka); His name is the State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics pedagogical institute(now Kaluga State Pedagogical University), school in Kaluga, Moscow Aviation Technology Institute.

The crater of the Moon, the smallest planet of 1590 Tsiolkovskaja, is named after Tsiolkovsky.

In Moscow, St. Petersburg, Lipetsk, Tyumen, Kirov and also in many others settlements there are streets named after him.

Since 1966, Scientific Readings in memory of K. E. Tsiolkovsky have been held in Kaluga.

In 1991, the Academy of Cosmonautics was established. K. E. Tsiolkovsky. On June 16, 1999, the Academy was given the name "Russian".

In the year of the 150th anniversary of the birth of K. E. Tsiolkovsky, the Progress M-61 cargo ship was named Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, and a portrait of the scientist was placed on the head fairing. The launch took place on August 2, 2007.

In February 2008, K. E. Tsiolkovsky was awarded the "Symbol of Science" public award, "for creating the source of all projects for the exploration of new spaces by man in the Cosmos."

Conclusion

Tsiolkovsky is the founder of the theory of interplanetary communications. His research for the first time showed the possibility of achieving cosmic speeds, proving the feasibility of interplanetary flights. He was the first to study the issue of a rocket - an artificial satellite of the Earth and expressed the idea of ​​​​creating near-Earth stations as artificial settlements using the energy of the Sun, and intermediate bases for interplanetary communications; considered the biomedical problems that arise during long-term space flights.

Konstantin Eduardovich was the first ideologist and theorist of human space exploration, the ultimate goal of which seemed to him in the form of a complete restructuring of the biochemical nature of thinking beings generated by the Earth. In this regard, he put forward projects new organization humanity, in which the ideas of social utopias of various historical eras are peculiarly intertwined.

Under Soviet rule, Tsiolkovsky's living and working conditions changed radically. Tsiolkovsky was assigned a personal pension and provided the opportunity for fruitful activity. His works greatly contributed to the development of rocket and space technology in the USSR and other countries.

List of sources used

1. Arlazorov M.S. Tsiolkovsky. The life of wonderful people.-M., "Young Guard", 1962-320 p.

2. Demin V.I. Tsiolkovsky. The life of wonderful people.-M., "Young Guard", 2005-336 p.

3. Alekseeva V.I. Philosophy of immortality K.E. Tsiolkovsky: the origins of the system and the possibilities of analysis // Journal "Social Sciences and Modernity" No. 3, 2001.

4. Kazyutinsky V.V. Cosmic philosophy of K.E. Tsiolkovsky: for and against. // "Earth and the Universe" No. 4, 2003, p. 43 - 54.

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 as a child, due to scarlet fever, he almost completely lost his hearing. This fact became the reason that the great scientist could not continue to study in high school, and he had to switch to self-study. During his youthful years, Tsiolkovsky lived in the city of Moscow, and there he studied mathematical sciences under the program of 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 is to this time that the largest number scientific research of Konstantin Eduardovich, which was noted by such an encyclopedic scientist and physiologist as Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov, which was the reason for accepting Tsiolkovsky into the Russian physical and chemical community. Almost all the works of this great inventor were devoted to jet vehicles, airplanes, airships, and many other aerodynamic studies.

It is worth noting that it was Konstantin Eduardovich who owned a completely new idea for those times of building an airplane with metal skin and a frame. In addition, in 1898 Tsiolkovsky became the first Russian citizen to independently develop and build a wind tunnel, which later became used in many flying vehicles.

The passion to know 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 explorer, today almost all military artillery uses flyovers to launch salvo fire. In addition, it was Tsiolkovsky who thought out a way to refuel missiles during their direct 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 centenary day, a medal was named after him, which was awarded to scientists for special work in the field of interplanetary communications.

Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935)

Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky is an outstanding scientist, inventor and engineer who created the basis for calculating jet propulsion and developed the design of the first space rocket to explore the boundless world spaces. The breadth and amazing richness of his creative imagination combined with a strict mathematical calculation.

Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky was born on September 17, 1857 in the village of Izhevsk, Ryazan province, in the family of a forester. K.S. Tsiolkovsky wrote about his parents: “My father’s character was close to choleric. He was always cold, reserved. smart person and speaker... He had a passion for invention and construction. I was not yet in the world when he invented and set up a threshing machine.

Alas, unsuccessful. Mother was of a completely different character - a sanguine nature, fever, laughter, a mocker and gifted. In the father, character, willpower prevailed, and in the mother - talent.

In K. E. Tsiolkovsky the best human qualities parents. He inherited the strong, unyielding will of his father and the talent of his mother.

The first years of K. E. Tsiolkovsky's childhood were happy. In the summer he ran a lot, played, built huts with his comrades in the forest, loved to climb fences, roofs and trees. He often launched a kite and sent a box with a cockroach up the thread. In winter, he enjoyed sledding. At the age of nine, at the beginning of winter, K. E. Tsiolkovsky fell ill with scarlet fever. The disease was severe, and due to complications in the ears, the boy almost completely lost his hearing. Deafness prevented her from continuing her studies at school. “Deafness makes my biography of little interest,” wrote K. E. Tsiolkovsky later, “because it deprives me of communication with people, observation and borrowing. My biography is poor in faces and collisions.”

From the age of fourteen, he began to study systematically on his own, using his father's small library, which contained books on the natural and mathematical sciences. At the same time, a passion for invention awakens in him. The young man builds Balloons from tissue paper, makes a small lathe and constructs a carriage that was supposed to move with the help of the wind. The model of the stroller worked out perfectly and walked well in the wind.

The father of K. E. Tsiolkovsky was very sympathetic to the invention and technical undertakings of his son. K. E. Tsiolkovsky was only 16 years old when his father decided to send him to Moscow for self-education and improvement. He believed that observations of technical and industrial life big city will give a more rational direction to his inventive aspirations.

But what could a deaf young man, who did not know life at all, do in Moscow? From the house of K. E. Tsiolkovsky received 10-15 rubles a month. He ate only black bread, did not even have potatoes and tea. But he bought books, retorts, mercury, sulfuric acid, etc. for various experiments and homemade devices. “I remember perfectly,” he wrote in his biography, “that apart from water and black bread I had nothing then. Every three days I went to the bakery and bought bread for 9 kopecks there. Thus, I lived 90 kopecks a month ".

In addition to the production of physical and chemical experiments, K. E. Tsiolkovsky read a lot, carefully worked out courses in elementary and higher mathematics, analytical geometry, higher algebra. Often, when analyzing some theorem, he tried to find the proof himself. He liked it very much, although he did not always succeed.

“At the same time, I was terribly occupied with various questions, and I tried to solve them right away with the help of the acquired knowledge ... I was especially tormented by this question - is it possible to use centrifugal force in order to rise beyond the atmosphere, into heavenly spaces" There was a moment when it seemed to K. E. Tsiolkovsky that he had found a solution to this problem: "I was so excited," he wrote, "even shocked that I did not sleep the whole night, wandered around Moscow and kept thinking about the great consequences of my discoveries. But by morning I was convinced of the falsity of my invention. The disappointment was as strong as the charm. This night left a mark on my whole life: after 30 years, I still sometimes dream that I am climbing to the stars in my car, and I feel the same delight as on that immemorial night.

In the autumn of 1879, K. E. Tsiolkovsky passed an external exam for the title of teacher of a public school, and four months later he was appointed to the post of teacher of arithmetic and geometry in the Borovsk district school of the Kaluga province. At his apartment in Borovsk, K. E. Tsiolkovsky set up a small laboratory. They sparkled in his house electric lightning, thunders rumbled, bells rang, lights lit up, wheels turned and illuminations shone. “I offered,” K. E. Tsiolkovsky wrote about these years, “those who want to try with a spoon of invisible jam. Those who were tempted by the treat received an electric shock. who got to him - the hair stood on end and sparks jumped out from any part of the body.

In 1881, 24-year-old K. E. Tsiolkovsky independently developed the theory of gases. He sent this work to the St. Petersburg Physico-Chemical Society. The work was approved by prominent members of the Society, including the brilliant chemist D. I. Mendeleev. However, its content was not news for science: similar discoveries had been made a little earlier abroad. For the second work, called "The Mechanics of the Animal Organism", K. E. Tsiolkovsky was unanimously elected a member of the Physico-Chemical Society.

Since 1885, K. E. Tsiolkovsky began to diligently deal with issues of aeronautics. He set himself the task of creating a metal controlled airship (aerostat). K. E. Tsiolkovsky drew attention to the very significant shortcomings of airships with balloons made of rubberized material: such shells quickly wore out, were flammable, had very little strength, and the gas filling them was quickly lost due to their permeability. The result of the work of K. E. Tsiolkovsky was a voluminous essay "Theory and Experience of the Aerostat". This essay provides a theoretical justification for the design of an airship with a metal shell (iron or copper); Numerous diagrams and drawings have been developed to explain the essence of the matter in the applications.

This work on a completely new task, without literature, without communication with scientists, required incredible effort and superhuman energy. “I worked almost continuously for two years,” wrote K. E. Tsiolkovsky, “I was always a passionate teacher and came from school very tired, because most left his strength there. Only in the evening could I begin my calculations and experiments. How to be? There was little time, and strength as well, and I decided to get up at dawn and, having already worked on my essay, go to school. After this two-year effort, I felt a heaviness in my head for a whole year.

In 1892, K. E. Tsiolkovsky significantly supplemented and developed his theory of an all-metal airship. The results of scientific research on this issue were published by K. E. Tsiolkovsky at his own meager funds.

The most important scientific achievements of K. E. Tsiolkovsky relate to the theory of motion of rockets and jet instruments. For a long time he, like his contemporaries, did not attach much importance to rockets, considering them a matter of fun and entertainment. But at the end of the nineteenth century, K. E. Tsiolkovsky began the theoretical development of this issue. In 1903, the journal "Scientific Review" published his article "Investigation of world spaces by jet devices." In it, a theory of rocket flight was given and the possibility of using jet vehicles for interplanetary communications was substantiated.

The most important and original discoveries of K. E. Tsiolkovsky in the theory of jet propulsion are the study of the motion of a rocket in space without gravity, the determination of the efficiency of a rocket (or, as K. E. Tsiolkovsky calls it, rocket utilization), the study of rocket flight under the influence of gravity in vertical and oblique directions. K. E. Tsiolkovsky belongs to a detailed study of the conditions for take-off from various planets, consideration of the problems of returning a rocket from any planet or asteroid to Earth. He investigated the effect of air resistance on the movement of a rocket and gave detailed calculations of the necessary fuel supply in order for the rocket to break through the layer. earth's atmosphere. Finally, K. E. Tsiolkovsky put forward the idea of ​​composite rockets or rocket trains for space exploration.

The results of the works of K. E. Tsiolkovsky in the theory of rockets have now become classics. First of all, it is necessary to note the law of K. E. Tsiolkovsky, concerning the movement of a rocket in an airless space under the action of only a reactive force, and his hypothesis about the constancy of the relative velocity of the outflow of combustion products from the rocket nozzle.

It follows from the law of K. E. Tsiolkovsky that the speed of a rocket increases indefinitely with an increase in the amount of explosives, and the speed does not depend on the speed or unevenness of combustion, if only the relative speed of the particles ejected from the rocket remains constant. When stock explosive equal to weight shells of a rocket with people and instruments, then (at a relative speed of ejected particles of 5700 meters per second) the speed of the rocket at the end of burning will be almost twice that which is needed to leave the Moon's gravitational field forever. If the fuel capacity is six times more weight rocket, then at the end of burning it acquires a speed sufficient to move away from the Earth and turn the rocket into a new independent planet - a satellite of the Sun.

The work of K. E. Tsiolkovsky on jet propulsion is not limited to theoretical calculations; they also give practical instructions to the design engineer on the design and manufacture of individual parts, the choice of fuel, and the outline of the nozzle; the question of creating the stability of flight in an airless space is being considered.

The rocket of K. E. Tsiolkovsky is a metal oblong chamber, similar in shape to an airship or an air barrage balloon. In the head, front, part of it there is a room for passengers, equipped with control devices, light, carbon dioxide absorbers and oxygen reserves. The main part of the rocket is filled with combustible substances, which, when mixed, form an explosive mass. The explosive mass is ignited in a certain place, near the center of the rocket, and the products of combustion, hot gases, flow out through the expanding pipe at great speed.

Having received the initial calculation formulas for determining the movement of rockets, K. E. Tsiolkovsky outlines an extensive program of consistent improvements in rocket vehicles in general. Here are the highlights of this grand program:

1. On-site experiments (referring to jet laboratories where experiments are carried out with fixed rockets).
2. The movement of a jet device on a plane (aerodrome).
3. Take-offs to low altitude and descent by planning.
4. Penetration into very rarefied layers of the atmosphere, i.e., into the stratosphere.
5. Flight beyond the atmosphere and descent by gliding
6. The foundation of mobile stations outside the atmosphere (like small and close to the Earth moons).
7. Using the energy of the Sun for breathing, nutrition and some other everyday purposes.
8. The use of solar energy for movement throughout the planetary system and for industry.
9. Visiting the smallest bodies of the solar system (asteroids or planetoids) located closer and farther than our planet from the Sun.
10. The spread of the human race throughout our solar system.

K. E. Tsiolkovsky’s research on the theory of jet propulsion was written on a grand scale and with an extraordinary flight of fancy. "God forbid me to lay claim to a complete solution of the problem," he said.

Having surrendered to the dream of interplanetary travel, K. E. Tsiolkovsky wrote: “First, you can fly a rocket around the Earth, then you can describe one way or another relative to the Sun, reach the desired planet, approach or move away from the Sun, fall on it or leave completely, becoming a comet wandering for many thousands of years in darkness, among the stars, before approaching one of them, which will become a new Sun for travelers or their descendants.

Mankind forms a number of interplanetary bases around the Sun, using asteroids wandering in space (small moons) as material for them.

Reactive devices will conquer boundless spaces for people and give solar energy two billion times greater than that which mankind has on Earth. In addition, it is possible to reach other suns, which jet trains will reach within several tens of thousands of years.

The best part of mankind, in all probability, will never perish, but will move from sun to sun as they go out... There is no end to life, no end to reason and improvement of mankind. His progress is eternal. And if this is so, then it is impossible to doubt the attainment of immortality."

The essay by K. E. Tsiolkovsky on the composite passenger rocket of 2017 reads like a fascinating novel. The descriptions of people's lives in an environment without gravity are striking in their wit and insight. It makes you want to take a walk through the gardens and greenhouses, which fly in airless space faster than a modern artillery shell!

The main works of K. E. Tsiolkovsky are now well known abroad. So, for example, the famous scientist and researcher of jet propulsion in outer space, Professor Herman Oberg, wrote in 1929 to K. E. Tsiolkovsky: “Dear colleague! Thank you very much for the written material sent to me. Your primacy and your services in the rocket business, and I only regret that I did not hear about you until 1925. I would probably be in my own works today much further and would do without those many vain labors, knowing your excellent work.

In another letter, the same Oberth says: "You have kindled a fire, and we will not let it go out, but we will make every effort to make the greatest dream of mankind come true." The rockets of K. E. Tsiolkovsky are described in detail in a number of scientific and popular magazines and books.

In technical journals abroad in 1928-1929. an extensive discussion was held to justify the derivation of the basic equation of the rocket. The results of the discussion showed the complete and irreproachable validity of Tsiolkovsky's formula for the law of rocket motion in space without gravitation and without environmental resistance. His hypothesis about the constancy of the relative velocity of particles ejected from the body of the rocket is accepted in most theoretical research scientists from all countries.

The scientific interests of K. E. Tsiolkovsky were not at all limited to issues of jet propulsion, but he consistently returned to the creation of the theory of rocket flight throughout his creative life. After the work "Investigation of the World Spaces with Reactive Instruments", published in 1903, K. E. Tsiolkovsky published in the journal "Aeronaut" in 1910 the article "Reactive Instrument as a Means of Flight in a Void and in the Atmosphere". In 1911-1914. three works by K. E. Tsiolkovsky about space flights appeared. After the Great October Socialist Revolution, scientific activity gained wider scope. He republishes with additions his main works on rockets. In 1927, he published a work on a space rocket (experimental training), then the work "Rocket Space Trains", which gives a detailed study of the movement of composite rockets. He devotes several articles to the theory of a jet airplane:

“The main motive of my life,” said K. E. Tsiolkovsky, “is not to live life in vain, to move humanity forward at least a little. That is why I was interested in what did not give me either bread or strength, but I hope that my work - maybe soon, or maybe in the distant future - they will give society mountains of bread and an abyss of power. This perseverance of search - the desire to create something new, concern for the happiness and progress of all mankind - determined the entire content of the life of this wonderful person. For a long time the name of K. E. Tsiolkovsky remained little known even in Russia. He was considered an eccentric dreamer, an idealist dreamer. The scientific merits of K. E. Tsiolkovsky received their true assessment only after the Great October Socialist Revolution.

Six days before his death, on 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 the self-taught: only the Soviet government and the party of Lenin "Stalin gave me effective help. I felt love populace, and this gave me the strength to continue my work, already being sick ... I transfer all my work on aviation, rocket navigation and interplanetary communications to the Bolshevik parties and the Soviet government - the true leaders of the progress of human culture. I am sure that they will successfully complete my work."

The life of K. E. Tsiolkovsky is a real feat. In the most difficult conditions, he carried out his theoretical and experimental research. The life of an inspired Kaluga self-taught is an example of creative daring, purposefulness, the ability to overcome obstacles, and a persistent desire to advance the science and technology of his time.

The most important works of K. E. Tsiolkovsky: Selected Works, Gosmashmetizdat, 1934, book. I - All-metal airship, book. II -Jet propulsion(Rocket into outer space, 1903; Exploration of world spaces by jet instruments, 1926); Space rocket. Experienced training, 1927; Rocket space trains, 1929; New airplane, 1929; Pressure on a plane during its normal motion in air, 1929; Jet airplane, 1930; Semi-jet stratoplane, 1932.

About K. E. Tsiolkovsky: Moiseev N. D., K. E. Tsiolkovsky (experience of biographical characteristics), in Vol. I Selected. works of K. E. Tsiolkovsky; Rynin N. A., Chronological list of works by K. E. Tsiolkovsky, ibid.; Him, K. E. Tsiolkovsky, his life, work and rockets, L., 1931; K. E. Tsiolkovsky (collection of articles), ed. Aeroflot, M., 1939; History of aeronautics and aviation in the USSR, M., 1944.

Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky- the great Russian inventor, scientist, founder of modern cosmonautics, an outstanding thinker who worked for the future of mankind, associated with the conquest of the expanses of the universe. Tsiolkovsky was born in the family of a forester in 1857 in the village of Izhevsk, Ryazan province. At the age of ten, he suffered from scarlet fever and lost his hearing. In 1869-1871, he studied at the gymnasium, but due to deafness he was forced to leave it and from the age of 14 he was engaged in self-education, taking a great interest in technology and books. At the age of 16, he comes to Moscow, where he studies independently in the library of the Rumyantsev Museum, studying physical and mathematical sciences for the course of secondary and high school. In 1876 he returned to his father, and in 1879 he passed the exams as an external student and became a teacher of geometry and arithmetic at the Borovsky School of the Kaluga Province. Tsiolkovsky devotes all his free time to scientific research, writes the work The Theory of Gases. In 1881, he submitted work to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society and received positive feedback. His work "The Mechanics of the Animal Organism" was also a success, received positive feedback the founder of the Russian physiological school, corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences I. M. Sechenov and Tsiolkovsky were accepted into the physico-chemical society.

The works of Tsiolkovsky after 1884 were mainly aimed at the scientific and technical justification of a controlled all-metal airship (“Metal controlled balloon” of 1892), the idea of ​​building a streamlined airplane and creating a rocket for interplanetary communications. However, Tsiolkovsky's airship project was not approved and he was denied funds to build a model. In the article "Airplane or Bird-Like (Aircraft) Flying Machine", published in 1894, he presented drawings and descriptions of the monoplane, which anticipated the designs of aircraft that appeared as much as 15 years later. But work on an airplane also did not find support from official representatives of science. In 1892, Tsiolkovsky moved to Kaluga, where he worked as a teacher of physics and mathematics in a gymnasium and a college. Free time he gives to scientific research. Not having the opportunity to purchase materials and instruments, he makes all the models and devices for experiments himself.


He made the first wind tunnel in Russia with his own hands, developed a methodology for conducting experiments in it. This time he received from the Academy of Sciences the first and only subsidy in the amount of 470 rubles, and in 1900, as a result of experiments, he was able to determine the drag coefficient of a ball, cone, cylinder and other bodies. During this period, he makes huge discoveries in the theory of rocket propulsion. Only in 1903 did Tsiolkovsky manage to place part of the article "Investigation of world spaces with jet devices." In this article and others that followed, published in 1911, 1912, 1914, he laid the foundations for the theory of rockets and a liquid rocket engine. He was the first to solve the problem of landing on the surface of a spacecraft devoid of atmosphere. In subsequent years, Tsiolkovsky developed the theory of multi-stage rockets. He took into account the influence of the atmosphere on the flight of the rocket and calculated the need for fuel needed to overcome the forces of the Earth's resistance with a rocket.

Tsiolkovsky is the founder of the theory of interplanetary communications. His research on reaching cosmic speeds proved the possibility of interplanetary flights. He was the first to speak about the idea of ​​creating an artificial Earth satellite and near-Earth stations for interplanetary communications. Tsiolkovsky was the first ideologist and theorist on the issue of human space exploration. He represented the future of mankind in migration from the Earth and the settlement of outer space. "The universe belongs to man!" — such is the essence of his statements.

The work of this most talented inventor greatly helped the development of space and rocket technology in the USSR and in the world. For outstanding services, K. E. Tsiolkovsky was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor in 1932. In 1954, the gold medal named after K. E. Tsiolkovsky "For outstanding work in the field of interplanetary communications." Died great inventor in 1935 in Kaluga, the house-museum of Tsiolkovsky was created here. Monuments to the great scientist were built in Moscow and Kaluga, the State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics, the Aviation Technical Institute in Moscow, a school and institute in Kaluga, as well as a crater on the Moon are named after him.

On September 17, 1857, a man was born in the Ryazan province, without whom it is impossible to imagine astronautics. This is Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky, a self-taught scientist who substantiated the idea that rockets should be used for space flights.
He sincerely believed that humanity would reach such a level of development that it would be able to populate the expanses of the universe.

Tsiolkovsky - nobleman

Father Eduard Ignatievich worked as a forester and was, as his son recalled, from an impoverished noble family, and his mother Maria Ivanovna came from a family of small landowners. She also taught him grammar and reading.
“Glimpses of a serious intellectual consciousness appeared while reading. At the age of 14, I took it into my head to read arithmetic, and it seemed to me that everything there was completely clear and understandable. From that time on, I realized that books are a simple thing and quite accessible to me.
“We are waiting for the abyss of discovery and wisdom. Let us live to receive them and reign in the universe, like other immortals.

Tsiolkovsky suffered from deafness since childhood.

Little Konstantin suffered from scarlet fever as a child, which made it difficult for him to study at the men's gymnasium in Vyatka (modern Kirov), where he moved in 1868. In general, Tsiolkovsky was often punished for all sorts of pranks in the classroom.
"The fear of natural death will be destroyed by a deep knowledge of nature."
“At first they inevitably come: thought, fantasy, fairy tale. They are followed by scientific calculation and, in the end, the execution crowns the thought.

Scientist not educated

Tsiolkovsky was expelled from the gymnasium. And when the young man was 16 years old, he failed to enter the Moscow Technical School. After that, Konstantin was engaged only in self-education and tutoring. In Moscow, he gnawed at the granite of science in the library of the Rumyantsev Museum. According to the memoirs of Tsiolkovsky, he lacked money in the capital so much that he literally ate only black bread and water.
“The main motive of my life is to do something useful for people, not to live in vain, to move humanity forward at least a little. That is why I was interested in that which gave me neither bread nor strength. But I hope that my works, maybe soon, or maybe in the distant future, will give the society mountains of bread and an abyss of power.”
“Penetrate people into the solar system, dispose of it like a mistress in a house: will the secrets of the world be revealed then? Not at all! Just as examining some pebble or shell will not reveal the secrets of the ocean.


The building where Tsiolkovsky most often studied

Tsiolkovsky was a teacher by profession

Returning home to Ryazan, Konstantin successfully passed the exams for the title of county teacher of mathematics. He received a referral to the Borovskoye School (the territory of modern Kaluga region), where he settled in 1880. In the same place, the teacher wrote scientific research and works. Having no connections in the scientific world, Tsiolkovsky independently developed the kinetic theory of gases. Although this was proven a quarter of a century ago. They say that Dmitri Mendeleev himself told him that he had discovered America.
“New ideas need to be supported. Few have such value, but this is a very precious property of people.
“Time may exist, but we do not know where to look for it. If time exists in nature, then it has not yet been discovered.

Colleagues at first did not understand Tsiolkovsky

In 1885, the scientist was seriously interested in the idea of ​​​​creating a balloon. He sent reports and letters to scientific organizations regarding this issue. However, he was refused: “To provide moral support to Mr. Tsiolkovsky by informing him of the opinion of the Department on his project. Reject the request for a grant for conducting experiments, ”they wrote to him from the Russian Technical Society. Nevertheless, the teacher managed to ensure that his articles and works were published regularly.
“Now, on the contrary, I am tormented by the thought: have I paid back with my labors for the bread that I have been eating for 77 years? Therefore, all my life I aspired to peasant agriculture in order to literally eat my own bread.
“Death is one of the illusions of the weak human mind. It does not exist, because the existence of an atom in inorganic matter is not marked by memory and time, the latter, as it were, does not exist. The many existences of the atom in organic form merge into one subjectively continuous and happy life- happy, because there is no other.

Illustration from the book "On the Moon"

Tsiolkovsky was the first to know what it was like to be on the moon

In his science fiction novel On the Moon, Tsiolkovsky wrote: “It was impossible to delay any longer: the heat was hellish; at least outside, in lighted places, the stone soil heated up to such an extent that rather thick wooden planks had to be tied under the boots. In a hurry, we dropped glass and earthenware, but it did not break - the weight was so weak. According to many, the scientist accurately described the lunar atmosphere.
"The planet is the cradle of the mind, but one cannot live forever in the cradle."