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Hot Air Balloon Ascent Lab (2D)

Side-view hot air balloon: hold the burner to climb, vent the valve to descend fast, and ride altitude-layered winds sideways — the same buoyancy-vs-cooling physics as the 3D version, read straight off live gauges.

Thermodynamics2DEasy60 FPS⇄ 3D version

This 2D companion drives the same buoyancy-vs-cooling physics as the 3D scene through a plain side-view canvas: hold the burner to heat the envelope and climb, release it to cool and sink, or open the valve for a faster controlled descent, while wind that shifts with altitude drifts you sideways — exactly the "steer by choosing your layer" mechanic real balloon pilots use.

⚙ Under the hood

Burner heat is modeled as a fixed upward acceleration (scaled by a power multiplier) against a constant cooling descent rate; venting the valve adds extra downward acceleration. Wind velocity varies with altitude and time, driving horizontal drift independent of the vertical motion.

buoyancythermal dynamicshot airwind layers

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install