Jacques Charles

Jacques Alexandre César Charles (1746–1823) was a French scientist and ballooning pioneer who organized the first hydrogen balloon flight in 1783.

Charles and Robert balloon: A hydrogen balloon designed by Jacques Charles and Nicolas-Louis Robert that made its first flight in Paris in 1783. This was the balloon used for Charles's first successful public flight.
Hydrogen balloon: A balloon lifted by hydrogen gas, which is less dense than the surrounding air. Charles's balloons used hydrogen rather than the heated air used by the Montgolfiers.
Enlightenment: An intellectual movement emphasizing reason, scientific inquiry, and public debate, especially in eighteenth-century Europe. Charles's experimental science and public demonstrations belong to this period's culture of inquiry.
Hydrogen airship: A steerable aircraft whose buoyancy comes from hydrogen contained in a gas envelope. Later hydrogen airships extended the lighter-than-air principle demonstrated by Charles's balloons.
First hydrogen balloon flight: The flight of an unmanned hydrogen balloon launched by Jacques Charles and the Robert brothers in Paris on August 27, 1783. Charles organized this pioneering public demonstration before the first crewed hydrogen flight.
Hydrogen: A chemical element with symbol H and atomic number 1; its gas is exceptionally light and flammable. Its low density supplied the buoyancy for Charles's balloons.
French Academy of Sciences: A French learned society founded in 1666 to advance and advise on scientific research. Charles became a member, reflecting his standing in French scientific life.
Gas balloon: A balloon lifted by a gas lighter than air, such as hydrogen or helium. Charles's flights helped establish gas balloons as a distinct alternative to hot-air balloons.
Jacques Charles's 1783 manned balloon flight: The December 1, 1783 ascent of Jacques Charles and Nicolas-Louis Robert in a hydrogen balloon from Paris. It established Charles as a pilot as well as an organizer of hydrogen ballooning.
Buoyancy: The upward force a fluid exerts on an immersed or floating object, arising from pressure differences. A balloon rises when the buoyant force exceeds its weight.

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