Question

How does Charles law relate to hot air balloons?

Answer 1

First of all we should be aware of Charles law, its application and also about its properties. Charles law states that if the pressure remains constant then the volume of an ideal gas is directly proportional to the absolute temperature. Jacques Charles was a French physicist, who generally formulated this law in the year 1780.

Complete step-by-step answer: Charles law can also be referred to as the law of volume which gives us the details about how gas expands with the increase in temperature. Whenever the temperature decreases, it ultimately decreases the volume of the gas.
By using this above statement we can write the above laws in the form of equation as:-

$V \propto \,\,T\,\,\,\,\,\,\,or\;\,\,\,\,\,\dfrac{V}{T} = K\,\,\,\,\, - (i)eq$ Here, K is constant.

Now, by considering the volume as ${V_1}$ and temperature as ${T_1}$ in eq (i) we get

$\dfrac{{{V_1}}}{{{T_1}}} = K\,\,\,\,\,\,\,\, - (ii)eq$

Similarly, by considering the volume as ${V_2}$ and temperature as ${T_2}$ in eq (i) we get

$\dfrac{{{V_2}}}{{{T_2}}} = K\,\,\,\,\,\,\,\, - (iii)eq$

Now from equating the equations (ii) and (iii) we get:-

$\dfrac{{{V_1}}}{{{V_{_2}}}} = \dfrac{{{T_1}}}{{{T_2}}}\,\,\,\,\,\,or\,\,\,\,\,\,\,\,{V_1} \times {T_2} = \,\,{V_2} \times {T_1}$

As we know from Charles Law that with the increase in temperature its volume also gets increased. Thus, in order to make hot air balloons rise, we have to generally add heat to it, and as a result heat causes the molecules of the gas to move apart from each other. Thus from this example we can clearly say that Charles law is directly related to the operation of hot air balloons.
The gas which is generally used in hot air balloons are hydrogen or helium, both of these gases are lighter than air.

Note: : Charles law has wide applications in our daily life. For example- In cold weather or environment, the capacity of the human lungs decreases. This affects the athletes to find more difficulty in performing or to do jogging.