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Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier designed the first successful flying craft. Their observations led them to believe that burning created a gas, which they called "Montgolfier's gas," causing a craft to rise. They constructed a balloon made of cloth and paper. The first aviators were a duck, rooster, and a sheep. Then in 1783 a crowd in Paris watched as a Montgolfier balloon carried two French men. The way the balloons worked is hot air and gases filled the balloon causing it to lift. Once it was in the air it simply went wherever the wind took it. To counter this problem Henri Giffard designed a round oval shaped balloon called a blimp and combined it with a steam engine to make it steerable. When gasoline engines were invented they became a major source of transportation across the Atlantic Ocean. The Hindenburg zeppelin disaster in 1937 caused the end for these large airships.
Explore the link below to find out more about the history of hot air balloons. Use the "Back" button or "Go" menu on your browser to come back to our site.
Then try an experiment of your own.
Properties
of Air: Heat Causes Air to Expand
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 1850 AD |
