Kite

A kite is a tethered heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create lift and drag forces.

The oldest depiction of a kite is from a mesolithic period cave painting in Muna island, southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, which has been dated from 9500–9000 years B.C.

Ancient and medieval Chinese sources describe kites being used for measuring distances, testing the wind, lifting men, signaling, and communication for military operations.

Kites were decorated with mythological motifs and legendary figures; some were fitted with strings and whistles to make musical sounds while flying.

Lightweight synthetic materials (ripstop nylon, plastic film, carbon fiber tube and rod) are used for kite making.

Kites have been used for human flight, military applications, science and meteorology, photography, lifting radio antennas, generating power, aerodynamics experiments, and much more.

[28] During the Song dynasty the Fire Crow, a kite carrying incendiary powder, a fuse, and a burning stick of incense was developed as a weapon.

[29] According to Samguk Sagi, in 647 Kim Yu-sin, a Korean general of Silla rallied his troops to defeat rebels by using flaming kites which also frightened the enemy.

[30] Russian chronicles mention Prince Oleg of Novgorod use of kites during the siege of Constantinople in 906: "and he crafted horses and men of paper, armed and gilded, and lifted them into the air over the city; the Greeks saw them and feared them".

[38] Palestinians from the Gaza Strip have flown firebomb kites over the Israel–Gaza barrier, setting fires on the Israeli side of the border,[39][40][41][42] hundreds of dunams of Israeli crop fields were burned by firebomb kites launched from Gaza, with an estimated economic loss of several millions of shekels.

Alexander Graham Bell experimented with very large man-lifting kites, as did the Wright brothers and Lawrence Hargrave.

Kites had a historical role in lifting scientific instruments to measure atmospheric conditions for weather forecasting.

Francis Ronalds and William Radcliffe Birt described a very stable kite at Kew Observatory as early as 1847 that was trialled for the purpose of supporting self-registering meteorological instruments at height.

Captive balloons may be more convenient for such experiments, because kite-carried antennas require a lot of wind, which may be not always possible with heavy equipment and a ground conductor.

Several companies have introduced self-contained crates and shipping containers that provide an alternative to gas-powered generators for remote locations.

Such systems use a combination of autonomous, self-launching kites for generation and batteries to store excess power for when winds are low or when otherwise draw exceeds supply.

This is a popular ritual, especially among the country's youth, and is depicted in the 2007 film The Kite Runner (although that story is based in neighboring Afghanistan).

[54] Kup, Patang, Guda, and Nakhlaoo are some of the popular kite brands; they vary in balance, weight and speed.

Unlike India, people in Nepal fly kites in August – September period and is more popular in time of Dashain.

During the Indian spring festival of Makar Sankranti, near the middle of January, millions of people fly kites all over northern India.

In Brazil, flying a kite is a very popular leisure activity for children, teenagers and even young adults.

Kites start appearing in the sky in the weeks leading up to Easter and school children are taken to parks for the activity.

The history of the practice is not entirely clear but given that Easter is a Christian festival, it is said that kite flying is symbolic of the Risen Lord.

Easter Monday, a public holiday, was the great kite-flying day on the sea wall in Georgetown and on open lands in villages.

"The appearance of the sky all over Georgetown, but especially towards the Sea Wall, was very striking, the air being thick with kites of all shapes and sizes, covered with gaily coloured paper, all riding bravely on the strong wind.The exact origins of the practice of kite flying (exclusively) at Easter are unclear.

Bridget Brereton and Kevin Yelvington[66] speculate that kite flying was introduced by Chinese indentured immigrants to the then colony of British Guiana in the mid 19th century.

The author of an article in the Guyana Chronicle newspaper of May 6, 2007 is more certain: Kite flying originated as a Chinese tradition to mark the beginning of spring.

[71] The record altitude was reached after eight series of attempts over a ten-year period from a remote location in western New South Wales, Australia.

Wet kite lines or wire can act as a conductor for static electricity and lightning when the weather is stormy.

The government of Egypt banned kite-flying in July 2020, seizing 369 kites in Cairo and 99 in Alexandria, citing both safety and national security concerns.