What did the Montgolfiers term the supposed lifting gas they observed rising with smoke?
Answer
Montgolfier gas
The initial concept for lighter-than-air flight was derived from observing that smoke and hot air naturally rose during fires or festivals. The brothers formulated a hypothesis that this upward movement was caused by a specific element or gas contained within the smoke. They subsequently named this theoretical lifting agent either 'Montgolfier gas' or simply 'smoke gas.' This concept drove their initial experiments, based on the belief that this substance, rather than the heat itself, was the primary mechanism responsible for providing buoyancy, even though the actual principle relies on the reduced density of heated air.
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