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All balloons do not float. Those that do are filled with a gas that is less dense than the surrounding air, so that is is displaced upward by weight of the denser air.

Small balloons are typically filled with helium, a much lighter gas than the nitrogen and oxygen in the atmosphere. Larger balloons may be filled with heated air, which occupies a greater volume and is therefore "lighter" than air outside the balloon. Some dirigibles (airships) were filled with the lighter but flammable gas hydrogen. Hydrogen can be split from water and used to fill thin plastic bags, which will also rise into the air like balloons.

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12y ago

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Why heating the air allows a hot air balloon to float?

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