Hot Air Expands, Cold Air

Condenses
When air molecules are heated, they become more
active and move apart. As the heated
molecules take up more space, the warm air
becomes less dense relative to the cooler air
around it, and the envelope begins to rise.
Conversely, when air molecules cool down,
they move closer together. The cool air
becomes more dense than the warmer air
around it, and the cool air sinks.

In 1782, the Montgolfier

brothers observed that
pieces of burning paper rise upward
above a fire. From this they concluded
that hot air is lighter than cold air.
This principle inspired them to design and
successfully launch the first hot air balloon to carry
passengers. The passengers for that 8-minute flight
were a duck, a rooster, and a sheep. The hot air
balloon rose because the warm air trapped inside the
balloon was lighter than the cold air surrounding it,
creating buoyancy to lift the weight of the balloon
and its passengers.

Archimedes, a Greek scientist,

noted that objects suspended in
fluid, such as boats on the water or
balloons in the air, have a buoyant
force equal to the weight of the
fluid displaced.
In hot air balloons, heated air
expands to fill the envelope. When the weight of the
displaced air outside the balloon equals the weight of
the balloon, the envelope itself is suspended, but the
balloon does not rise off the ground.
When the weight of
the
displaced air exceeds
the
weight of the
balloon, a
buoyant force occurs
and
the balloon rises.
Steps to fly a hot air balloon:
1. A fan blows air into the mouth of the balloon
to inflate it.
2. The pilot ignites a propane gas burner to heat
the air in the balloon. The hot air expands and
fills the balloon.
3. More heat makes the balloon lift off the
ground. The thrust comes from the wind.
4. Burning less fuel makes the air less hot and so
the balloon descends. When a cooling vent is
opened, the hot air escapes and the balloon
quickly descends.

Lighter than Air Key Concepts