Re-Defining The Word Impossible

Impossible! Does it have a new definition? Before the 20th century, there was always this argument that it was impossible for man to fly with anything heavier than air. Ironically, birds were already flying, and were and are heavier than air. In the 19th Century, Otto Lilienthal already started experiments on flying. He used hand gliders to test the lift that could be generated using different airfoils.

In the early 20th century, the Wright brothers made a breakthrough and flew with a machine much heavier than air. While they were developing their plane, they made calculations for the power and weight of the engine needed to propel the plane. They then wrote all the engine manufacturers for an engine with the specifications. The engine experts at the time said it was impossible to make an
engine with that amount of power and maintaining their weight requirement. The Wright brothers designed and manufactured the engine themselves. The "impossible" was possible after all

Again, in 1940, a team of all experts in gas turbines under the US National Academy of Science, while considering the application of gas turbines for airplane propulsion made this remark, "Even considering the improvements possible... the gas turbine could hardly be considered a feasible application to airplanes, mainly because of the difficulty with the stringent weight requirements". Only two years after, Germany did experiments using jet engine on an airplane. Note that every jet engine on airplanes today is a gas turbine.

Today, man can fly with machines much heavier than air. We cannot even imagine the contrast. We have Jumbo planes today that can airlift hundreds of people much heavier than air, the machine themselves being much heavier than air. While considering these, I feel that there should be a re-definition of the word "impossible". The word impossible can be defined in my own terms as a situation beyond the limits of man's comprehension at any given time, which in itself is well surmountable when addresses appropriately. Impossibility is not real. It is only a product of ignorance. Little wonder the saying, "with God, all things are possible". This tells that anything we consider impossible today is because we are limited in knowledge. With the right applications, we can achieve more... See you at the top.

(excerpts from DelftX)