Kongming lantern
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The Kongming lantern (Chinese:zh:孔明灯) was the first hot air balloon, said to be invented by Zhuge Liang in popular lore, whose reverent term of address (his Chinese style name) was Kongming. This is however unlikely, and the technological discovery is probably misattributed. According to the sinologist and historian of science Joseph Needham, the Chinese experimented with mini-hot air balloons from as early as the 3rd century BC - but the attribution of this to Kongming is likely apocryphal.
[edit] Use of the Kongming Lantern
First deployed as a type of signalling balloon or - it is claimed - a type of spy blimp in warfare. Later non-military applications were mooted as they became popular with children at carnivals. These lanterns were subsequently incorporated into festivals like the Chinese Mid-Autumn and Lantern Festivals.
