#balloon

• Aerology — A branch of meteorology that studies the physical properties, dynamic phenomena, and thermodynamic processes in the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere (upper troposphere, stratosphere), beyond the direct influence of the ground; investigation is carried out through direct experimental methods, such as radiosondes, pilot balloons, weather rockets, and satellites.
• Aeronaut — A specialized or authorized person who navigates through the atmosphere using an aerostat, an airship, or a balloon; a pilot or member of the flight crew operating an aircraft lighter than air. In a historical sense, the term designates the pioneers of atmospheric flights who paved the way for airspace exploration.
• Female aeronaut — A woman specialized in aerial navigation, who pilots or belongs to the flight crew of an aerostat, balloon, or airship. The term highlights the female contribution to the development of atmospheric navigation, including both the daring women from the pioneering era of aerostation and modern female specialists in lighter-than-air flight.
• Atmospheric sounding — An experimental method or technical procedure for investigating the upper layers of Earth's atmosphere by launching sounding balloons, meteorological rockets, or drones specially equipped with measuring instruments. This structural process enables the determination of the vertical profile of temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind speed, providing fundamental data for weather forecasting.
• Aerostat — A flying apparatus lighter than air, whose sustenance and ascent in the atmosphere rely on Archimedean force (static lift), being filled with a gas less dense than the surrounding air (such as helium, hydrogen) or with hot air. This structural category encompasses free balloons, captive balloons, and mechanically propelled airships.
• Aerostatic — Relating to aerostatics or to the equilibrium of gases and bodies immersed in them; concerning flying apparatus lighter than air, whose atmospheric sustainability relies on static Archimedean force. The term describes the mechanical properties, internal pressures, gas-tight envelopes, or hydrostatic principles applied to gaseous media.
• Aerostation — The science, technology, or practical activity dealing with the design, construction, piloting, and operation of aircraft lighter than air (aerostats, balloons, airships). It represents the first historical stage of human aerial navigation, theoretically grounded in the laws of static and hydrostatic lift applied to large volumes of light gases or hot air.
• Balloonist — A soldier or civil specialist structurally trained to pilot, launch, monitor, and maintain an aerostat or a captive observation balloon. In a historical military sense, these soldiers played a crucial tactical role during early modern conflicts, ascending to high altitudes in open gondolas to direct artillery fire and report enemy troop movements.
• Albuquerque — The largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States of America, founded in 1706 as a Spanish outpost. It serves as a major economic, cultural, and scientific hub, globally renowned for the International Balloon Fiesta, Sandia National Laboratories, and its traditional pueblo-style architecture deeply influenced by Hispanic and Native American cultures.
• Angioplasty — A minimally invasive surgical intervention within interventional radiology and cardiology, used for the widening, restoration, or structural reconstruction of the lumen of a narrowed or occluded blood vessel. The procedure is well-defined by introducing a catheter equipped with an inflatable balloon at its tip, which is inflated at the stenosis level to dilate the vascular wall, frequently accompanied by the permanent placement of a metallic stent to maintain circulatory patency.