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Question 1 1 pts Hot air balloons operate through an interesting combination of thermodynamics and fluid statics principles. The basic idea is that when the
Question 1 1 pts Hot air balloons operate through an interesting combination of thermodynamics and fluid statics principles. The basic idea is that when the air in the balloon is heated up, a pressure differential is created between the outside cooler air and the inside warmer air, with higher pressure on the inside and lower pressure on the outside. This causes air to rush out of the balloon until the pressures inside and outside equalize. Once this happens, the density of the air inside the balloon is lower than the density of air outside, and this causes the weight of the air inside the balloon to be less than the buoyant force on the balloon. If the buoyant force is larger than both the weight of the air inside plus the payload of the balloon, then it will rise into the air. In this problem, we model air as an ideal gas, and even though hot air balloons are not typically spherical, we approximate them as spheres for simplicity. A certain hot air balloon has a diameter of roughly 60 ft, and the air temperature outside the balloon is about 68F. The interior of the balloon is heated to a temperature that's about 160F above the outside air temperature. What is the ratio of the buoyant force on the balloon to the weight of the air inside? (to check your work, think about whether you expect the answer to be greater than or less than 1, and what that would mean physically)
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