25 Hot Air Balloons

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Hot Air Balloons by DANIEL GREENBERG

Chapter 1 Up, Up. and Away The year was 1783. A crowd came together in Paris, France. Ben Franklin was there. The king and queen of France were there, too, Suddenly, a big, round object rose in the sky. What was this thing? It was a hot air balloon. This was the world's first flying machine.

Chapter 2 The Dream The hot air balloon had been invented in France by the Montgolfier (mont-GAHL-fee-ay) brothers. Since long ago, people had dreamed of flying. But the Montgolfier brothers made this dream come true. The brothers noticed what happened in a fire. Paper would rise up a chimney. Was hot gas making it rise? The brothers filled model balloons with hot air. The models took off!

Who went on the first balloon ride? The Montgolfier brothers had promised their father they would not go. It was too dangerous. Instead, the first riders were a rooster, a sheep, and a duck. They all came home safely. Soon, other people built hot air balloons. In November 1783 the first people rode in a balloon. Flying had begun.

Chapter 3 How a Hot Air Balloon Works Why does a hot air balloon work? Think of a beach ball. If you try to push the ball under water, it pops up. Why? The air in the ball is lighter than water. The lighter thing rises. The same thing happens with a balloon. The heated air in the balloon is lighter than the air around it. The balloon rises.