Ok, this looks like a dumb question or even near trolling, but I really don't understand it.

When air is heated over an oven plate, it rises. Obviously, I can check by blowing some smoke in.

The common explanation is that hot air has less density than cold air, and consequently, it rises.

Fair enough, the hot air will end above the cold air, but why is it rising in a column?

With the same argument, I could deduce (and I know that it's wrong) that the cold air above is denser, so it will go down, pressing the hot air away sideways.

What additional fact am I (and the common explanation) missing?

(I'm pretty sure that the tags I found are not optimal.)

Edit: in my mind I envision a picture of (red) hot air molecules separated more than the (blue) cold molecules which slip down between the red ones. I'm aware that this is a very crude model, and moreover ends in a wrong prediction.

Ok, this looks like a dumb question or even near trolling, but I really don't understand it.

When air is heated over an oven plate, it rises. Obviously, I can check by blowing some smoke in.

The common explanation is that hot air has less density than cold air, and consequently, it rises.

Fair enough, the hot air will end above the cold air, but why is it rising in a column?

With the same argument, I could deduce (and I know that it's wrong) that the cold air above is denser, so it will go down, pressing the hot air away sideways.

What additional fact am I (and the common explanation) missing?

(I'm pretty sure that the tags I found are not optimal.)

Edit: in my mind I envision a picture of (red) hot air molecules separated more than the (blue) cold molecules which slip down between the red ones. I'm aware that this is a very crude model, and moreover ends in a wrong prediction.

Edit (about the duplicate): I'm not sure if the other question is about the way in which the hot air raises. At least, the answers over there do not (or not clearly) address this aspect.

The accepted answer here explains what is going on by stating formulas for pressure above the heat plate as well as next to it.

Ok, this looks like a dumb question or even near trolling, but I really don't understand it.

When air is heated over an oven plate, it rises. Obviously, I can check by blowing some smoke in.

The common explanation is that hot air has less density than cold air, and consequently, it raises.

Fair enough, the hot air will end above the cold air, but why is it raising in a column?

With the same argument, I could deduce (and I know that it's wrong) that the cold air above is denser, so it will go down, pressing the hot air away sideways.

What additional fact am I (and the common explanation) missing?

(I'm pretty sure that the tags I found are not optimal.)

Edit: in my mind I envision a picture of (red) hot air molecules separated more than the (blue) cold molecules which slip down between the red ones. I'm aware that this is a very crude model, and moreover ends in a wrong prediction.

Ok, this looks like a dumb question or even near trolling, but I really don't understand it.

When air is heated over an oven plate, it rises. Obviously, I can check by blowing some smoke in.

The common explanation is that hot air has less density than cold air, and consequently, it rises.

Fair enough, the hot air will end above the cold air, but why is it rising in a column?

With the same argument, I could deduce (and I know that it's wrong) that the cold air above is denser, so it will go down, pressing the hot air away sideways.

What additional fact am I (and the common explanation) missing?

(I'm pretty sure that the tags I found are not optimal.)

Edit: in my mind I envision a picture of (red) hot air molecules separated more than the (blue) cold molecules which slip down between the red ones. I'm aware that this is a very crude model, and moreover ends in a wrong prediction.

Ok, this looks like a dumb question or even near trolling, but I really don't understand it.

When air is heated over an oven plate, it rises. Obviously, I can check by blowing some smoke in.

The common explanation is that hot air has less density than cold air, and consequently, it raises.

Fair enough, the hot air will end above the cold air, but why is it raising in a column?

With the same argument, I could deduce (and I know that it's wrong) that the cold air above is denser, so it will go down, pressing the hot air away sideways.

What additional fact am I (and the common explanation) missing?

(I'm pretty sure that the tags I found are not optimal.)

Ok, this looks like a dumb question or even near trolling, but I really don't understand it.

When air is heated over an oven plate, it rises. Obviously, I can check by blowing some smoke in.

The common explanation is that hot air has less density than cold air, and consequently, it raises.

Fair enough, the hot air will end above the cold air, but why is it raising in a column?

With the same argument, I could deduce (and I know that it's wrong) that the cold air above is denser, so it will go down, pressing the hot air away sideways.

What additional fact am I (and the common explanation) missing?

(I'm pretty sure that the tags I found are not optimal.)

Edit: in my mind I envision a picture of (red) hot air molecules separated more than the (blue) cold molecules which slip down between the red ones. I'm aware that this is a very crude model, and moreover ends in a wrong prediction.