All About Ibn Firnas!
Abbas Ibn Firnas was a Muslim, who was an Andalusian polymath, who lived in Al Andalus (Spain). He
was known for aviation, engineering, Arabic poetry, inventor, and a musician. In 875 AD, Ibn Firnas was the first aviator to fly in a scientific way; he invented the first flying machine. Ibn Firnas decided to create his own glider to fly starting from the top of a mountain. This glide that he built was very successful and inspired many people. He tied his device to his arms, climbed a tower near Cordoba, and jumped in the air. He stayed in the air for nearly 10 minutes. He crashed when he landed because his glider didn't have a tail to slow him down, but he survived eventually. Even though his invention was successful, Ibn Firnas his bad landing caused some injuries. Ibn firnas was also famous for his invention called al-Maqata. Al-Maqata was a water clock; he manufactured glass, made corrective lenses, and invented a chain of rings that could be used to imitate the motion of the planets and stars. Ibn Firnas also developed a process for cutting rock crystal, which was allowed Spain to export quartz to Egypt to be cut down. Ibn Firnas was very unique, he had a constructed room in his house, which stars, clouds, thunder, and lightning, were seen by audiences. This room was produced by devices which were in his laboratory, located in his basement. These experiments were very inspiring to astronauts and were contributed with the studies of astronomy. Many scientists used Ibn Firnas’s methods in learning and improving these inventions into something that could be useful and helpful to humankind.
was known for aviation, engineering, Arabic poetry, inventor, and a musician. In 875 AD, Ibn Firnas was the first aviator to fly in a scientific way; he invented the first flying machine. Ibn Firnas decided to create his own glider to fly starting from the top of a mountain. This glide that he built was very successful and inspired many people. He tied his device to his arms, climbed a tower near Cordoba, and jumped in the air. He stayed in the air for nearly 10 minutes. He crashed when he landed because his glider didn't have a tail to slow him down, but he survived eventually. Even though his invention was successful, Ibn Firnas his bad landing caused some injuries. Ibn firnas was also famous for his invention called al-Maqata. Al-Maqata was a water clock; he manufactured glass, made corrective lenses, and invented a chain of rings that could be used to imitate the motion of the planets and stars. Ibn Firnas also developed a process for cutting rock crystal, which was allowed Spain to export quartz to Egypt to be cut down. Ibn Firnas was very unique, he had a constructed room in his house, which stars, clouds, thunder, and lightning, were seen by audiences. This room was produced by devices which were in his laboratory, located in his basement. These experiments were very inspiring to astronauts and were contributed with the studies of astronomy. Many scientists used Ibn Firnas’s methods in learning and improving these inventions into something that could be useful and helpful to humankind.