The history of flying machines dates back many years ago. Various engineers and others were trying to find a machine that could fly and move faster, a hot air balloon was discovered. These balloons were the first flying machines that humanity has ever made. Nowadays, they are used by weather scientists and tourists. The ideal and mechanism of a hot air balloon was towered on buoyancy. To make this machine move, the inside of this machine is supplied with air.
A balloon expands when heated because of the ideal gas law. Gases expand when their temperature increases, and when this expansion occurs within an elastic container, such as a balloon, the pressure exerted by the expanding gas forces the balloon to inflate.
Normally, hot air is lighter compared to cold. Therefore, when the air is heated, the machine rises and makes the balloon expand. As the heat increases, balloons keep on going higher and higher. To make it land or come down, you release the hot air.
The expansion of this balloon is a result of thermal heating. In other words, when the balloon is heated, the air inside the balloon expands. When the inside of this balloon is supplied with heat, the movement of air molecules in the balloon starts to expand and move. The air masses expand, which will then cause the expansion of the balloon. Also, kinetic energy is the cause of the higher movement of air balloons.
Idyllic Example of a Balloon Experiment
When the balloon is supplied with hot air, it expands due to the thermal expansion process. In this article, you will encounter the word thermal expansion. But what is thermal expansion? It is the process where volume, shape and matter change when the temperature changes through heat transfer.
As we have seen from the above, there is a strong relationship between temperature and kinetic energy. The first similarity we see is that temperature is the average measurement of the kinetic energy of the particles that usually form a substance. In simple words, we can say kinetic energy is the energy responsible for air balloon movement. Therefore, an increase in kinetic energy of the particles of the substance direct cause increase in average speed.
The air particles in the air balloon are firmly held together by intermolecular forces. However, as the heat or temperature increases, these forces are broken down, thus the rapid movement of particles from one another while at the same time the volume of substances increases.
The experiment clearly outlines how mass has a certain percentage of energy, making it easy to move because now you can move easily. However, if you compare two objects with similar mass, but one is moving, we can say that the one moving is considered to have more energy. This can be used as a simple but logical explanation regarding various states of matter.
With that being said, we can proudly say that cold has low energy and cannot move as fast as the gases because they move rapidly and have a lot of energy that makes it bounce off back easy, especially when heating takes place. The bouncing is similar to the kind of air we normally feel.
When the balloon is heated up, more and more energy is added to the molecules inside. And since they cannot increase weight, the energy is converted to motion, which makes them move faster. As they move, a collision takes place. However, fast collisions are less powerful than those when the molecules are more heated than cooler. As all the activities take place inside, the outside molecule is not affected.
Thus they keep pushing inside. Both outside and inside molecules keep on pushing either in an out until the equilibrium point is achieved. Before we even go further, it is nice to understand the effects of heat and cold to understand this concept or experiment better.
Effects of heat on balloon materials
The results could have been different if the rubber substances exhibited similar behaviors to other substances. However, the arrangement of the rubber molecules makes the band smaller, especially when heating them. In the process, the tangled balls that make up the molecules are unwinding; thus, the molecules become less bunched and resemble the strand. In this case, the rubber band shrinks.
Effects of cold on balloon materials
If the rubber band is cool down, it becomes a stretcher, and it expands slightly. This happens because the molecules are arranged in a more effective stretching shape. Since the molecules are more structured and rigid, they become stronger.
Why does a balloon in hot water expand?
To blow the balloon, you must use energy, or you must apply force. The air particle can come from various sources but are the most common in these human lungs. As the air particles continue to absorb heat, the inside wall heats something that creates enough air pressure, forcing the rubber of this balloon to expand and inflate the balloon.
Super high pressure is created once the air particles of the balloon collide. Additionally, as the walls of these particles expand and create enough energy, high pressure inside the balloon increase; thus, the balloon is realized, and the air balloon starts to fly.
In another situation, when the balloon is placed inside the bottle, it will not inflate because the bottle itself is filled with air particles, and there is no escape route for air. From the above explanation, we can see that air takes up space. The air inside usually compresses slightly, but the space created cannot fill that bottle; thus, the balloon will not inflate.
If you can plug the hole in the bottle, the is a likelihood that the balloon will stay inflated even when you have removed the mouth. This happens because the balloon’s high-pressure air pushes outwards compared to the low-pressure air inside the bottle. On the other hand, the air inside the balloon starts to push out against the wall; thus, the balloon remains inflated, and when the hole is unplugged, the air flows to the bottle. The air pressure available in the bottle will always keep on increasing, which will result in the collapse of the balloon.
Conclusion
Hot air balloon has been here for many years, something that has shaped flying machines’ history. As a result of this many and advanced machines has been invented and they have become a great part of our day to day activities.
When the balloon is heated up, more and more energy is added because balloons cannot be heavier.
As a result, more energy is produced that is used to drive the balloon. As the energy increases, the more powerful the air balloon becomes. As the molecules continue to push from inside and outside, the equilibrium point is attained where other related forces balance additional energy.
Despite being used by the few people in the community, the hot air balloon will always remain the most important tool that has shaped the aviation industry greatly.
