hydrogen balloons
Lighter-than-air spheres
Hydrogen balloons are balloons filled with hydrogen gas, which is lighter than air and provides lift.
Before helium became widely available, hydrogen was the standard gas for balloons and airships, though its flammability made it dangerous—most infamously in the Hindenburg disaster.
Today hydrogen balloons are rare in consumer settings but still used in meteorology and some scientific applications: Weather services launch hydrogen balloons twice daily to measure atmospheric conditions.
- aerostaticsScience of gases equilibrium
- weather balloonsAirborne instrument platforms
- riseMove to higher position
- lighter than airLess dense than atmosphere
- flammabilityEase of catching fire
Montgolfier brothers · burst · buoyancy · explosion · gas leak · float · gas laws · molecular weight · inflate · zeppelin · airship · pop · dirigibles · density · release · Hindenburg disaster · early aviation · combustion
- balloonslatex balloons, foil balloons, helium balloons, mylar balloons, weather balloons
- aerostatsaerostat, airships, blimp, balloons, zeppelin
hydrogen balloonslead weights
Heavy metal for sinking
anchors · sandbags · ballast · water balloons · airplanes