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A comment on MIT’s gas-powered drone is able to stay in the air for five days at a time. Parent comment

Re:MIT’s gas-powered drone is able to stay in the air for fi... by enraged_camel on Tuesday June 27, 2017 @05:00PM (#14649393)
Think about how much weight a party balloon with helium can support. Not a lot. It could definitely not carry a camera, for example.

Hot air balloons adjust altitude by heating the helium inside the balloon and letting it cool back down as appropriate. You would need a similar mechanism, but in much smaller format.

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Re:MIT’s gas-powered drone is able to stay in the air for fi... by snewk on Tuesday June 27, 2017 @05:05PM (#14649436)
hot air balloons use hot air (which is less dense than cool air) not helium.

they are open by design, unlike dirigibles. hot air balloons increase altitude by adding more hot air via a burner, and decrease altitude by letting the air diffuse out through holes in the top of the balloon.

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Re:MIT’s gas-powered drone is able to stay in the air for fi... by enraged_camel on Tuesday June 27, 2017 @06:45PM (#14650243)
Whoops, yeah you are right. I blame lack of caffeine!
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