Ascension éxecutée par Charles dans La Prairie de Nesles, le 1 Decémbre 1783 from Histoire des ballons et des aéronautes célèbres.

Histoire des ballons et des aéronautes célèbres.

Ascension éxecutée par Charles dans La Prairie de Nesles, le 1 Decémbre 1783.

Hot air is lighter than cold air, so it rises. This discovery gave birth to hot air ballooning in France in the late 18th century. Early balloonists discovered that if you capture hot air in a balloon, the balloon rises, along with anything attached, such as a basket. They found that hydrogen-filled balloons rose in the sky just as party balloons today filled with helium rise to the ceiling. Because hydrogen is significantly lighter than air, balloons filled with hydrogen can rise extremely high in the sky. This illustration is a depiction of the first manned hydrogen balloon taking off on December 1, 1783. It flew over 20 miles at an altitude of 9,800 feet. That’s as high as eight Empire State Buildings!