Prehistoric man discovered that an animal skin filled with air floated on water and helped him to swim. The fact that gas in a bag could raise itself from the earth was not appreciated until much later. It had to await the first detailed studies of the atmosphere and its gases by the 17th century Italian scholars like Evangelista Torricelli.

The English chemist Robert Boyle made two important contributions: he was the first to isolate the lightest gas, hydrogen, and established the law which is now named after him which says that for a given amount of gas the volume expands as the pressure drops- and the reverse applies.

In 1782, the French papermaker brothers Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier successfully blew a balloon filled with hot air inside a room. The bag was made of silk, with an opening at the bottom and a capacity of 40cu.ft. When paper was burned in the opening the bag filled and rose to the ceiling.

The same year a1,000cu.ft. hydrogen balloon devised by the French physicist J.A.C.Charles and two craftsmen brothers named Robert was launched over Paris. It descended through the clouds terrifying villagers who thought it was a monster.

Ballooning was soon to become an instant craze. For a century thereafter it became a popular feature in fairs and shows. In the 20th and 21st century ballooning as a sport has revived. This is partly because inert helium gas replaced the highly flammable hydrogen. But as a serious mode of travel, the balloon has still a long way to go.