ANSWERS: 3
  • Helium molecules are very small. The helium slowly leaks through the pores of the balloon. It deflates and falls to earth. When I was a kid, back in a previous millennium, we were having a party outside when a balloon slowly descended from above. I believe it came from the nearest big town, which was 15 miles away. It had a note attached with just one word:      "Fink" True story.
  • 1) "The standard helium balloons that are sold on the 17th June do not expand a great deal. So when the balloon rises one can assume that a significant pressure difference will develop between the air inside and the surrounding air. Such balloons are not strong, so they can be expected to succumb quickly to the pressure and leak or burst and fall to the earth. Strong balloons made of elastic material that can expand considerably, will reach much greater heights than those sold on the National Day. Strong balloons are used daily to carry weather sensors up to heights of 20-30 kilometres before bursting. Winds in the upper atmosphere can then carry the sensor equipment and remains of the balloon tens of kilometers from where they were originally released before they reach the ground again. Most helium balloons will eventually burst and fall to earth, but their weight and the material they are made of determines the height they will reach. Tests have been made to find out how high various types of balloon will rise before they burst, or reach equilibrium and remain at a certain altitude. The results showed that the ballons used in the tests could withstand conditions at heights ranging from 400 m to just under 11 kilometers. The material the balloons were made of was the deciding factor in how high they could reach." Source and further information: http://visindavefur.hi.is/svar.php?id=5521 2) "Cracker question because helium balloons are actually a pretty controversial topic. Some people argue that they are harmful to the environment because on returning to Earth, animals mistake them for food, eat them, and die. Now for this to happen, the balloons would have to come back down in fairly large chunks. These chunks would then have to either block the animal's airways and choke them, or become lodged in their digestive system causing a fatal illness. Neither of these outcomes sounds very nice for animals so it's worth investigating more." "First of all, only one hundred percent biodegradable latex balloons are used in mass releases. Research showed that these balloons degrade about as quickly as an oak leaf under similar conditions. But opponents argue that a balloon floating in the ocean would take a lot longer to degrade than it would on land. While it's hard to know whether balloons that have turned up in the stomachs of dead marine animals caused their death, the presence of a ribbon would be a very useful piece of information. The other argument is that helium balloons are claimed to reach a height of anywhere up to ten kilometres before shattering into tiny little pieces. These pieces, it is said, would be too small to pose a threat to animals. Now the shattering effect sounds reasonable for two reasons. One is that atmospheric pressure is dramatically reduced at high altitudes, so a helium balloon expands as it rises and eventually explodes. If you inflate a balloon beyond its limits at room temperature, it will break into small pieces up to about ten centimetres long. But the elasticity of rubber decreases at very low temperatures so it is possible that helium balloons shatter into much smaller pieces as is often claimed. Unfortunately, no one has followed a balloon up to see what really happens up there as far as I know." Source and further information: http://www.abc.net.au/science/surfingscientist/heliumballoons.htm Further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balloon#Safety_and_environmental_concerns
  • Eventually bursts when the inside pressure is more than the outside pressure

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