# Would this work (big floating gasbag question)?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-work-big-floating-gasbag-question/95375>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 26, 2001, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-work-big-floating-gasbag-question/95375 "2001-11-26T21:51:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Lodrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@Lodrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lodrain)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-work-big-floating-gasbag-question/95375/1 "2001-11-26T21:51:59Z")

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Okay - I know how a balloon: it’s all a matter of density differences, and so forth. So… What if I took an enclosed gasbag, filled it halfway with helium (no hydrogen!), and heated that until it expanded to fill the bag completely - would this increase the lifting power by an appreciable percentage? And if so, would this be practical? Would I need something like a huge, heavy strut network for the heating elements and a power source more powerful than generators run by the engines? Would this work?

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**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-work-big-floating-gasbag-question/95375/2 "2001-11-26T21:58:13Z")

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IANABalloonist, but given that hot air balloons work when filled with nothing but, well, hot air, I would assume that a helium balloon filled with hot helium would work better than one filled with “room temperature” helium.

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**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-work-big-floating-gasbag-question/95375/3 "2001-11-26T22:31:22Z")

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Sorry, you’re too late, Redukter, it’s already been done.

> **[How Helium Balloons Work](https://science.howstuffworks.com/helium.htm)**
>
> Helium balloons tend to fascinate adults and children alike (and it's not just the Donald Duck voice thing, though that is a big draw). Learn all about helium and why it floats!

> [@](#):
>
> If you watch the news, you may hear that there are several people competing right now to be the first to make it around the world in a balloon non-stop. **They are all using heated helium balloons, combining the two lighter-than-air techniques to get maximum lift.** Balloon sizes range from 200,000 cubic feet to millions of cubic feet. Here are some links to sites covering various around-the-world attempts:
> 
> Breitling Orbiter  
> Team RE/MAX  
> J. Rennee  
> Solo Spirit  
> Virgin Challenger  
> Ever Eastward - Balloonists vie to be the first to ride the prevailing winds around the globe

On the Web page, those are all links–check some of them out, see if there are diagrams.