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  • A thermal airship is an airship that generates buoyancy by heating air in a large chamber or envelope. The lower density of interior hot air compared to cool ambient air causes an upward force on the envelope. The most common example is the hot air balloon. An airship that uses steam would also qualify as a thermal airship. Other types of airships use a gas that is lighter than air at ambient temperature, such as helium, as a lifting gas. Some airship designs that use a lighter-than-air lifting gas heat a portion of the gas, which is usually maintained in enclosed cells to gain additional lift. Heating the lifting gas causes expansion of the gas in order to further lower the density of the lifting gas, which results in greater lift.