Balloons are filled. Why do hot air balloons fly? How the ball learned to fly

It would seem that it could be simpler and clearer than balloon familiar from childhood. However, if you think about it, many questions arise. For example, how and what are everyone’s favorite balloons inflated with? Could aero designers really be able to prepare a huge number of them to decorate a holiday by inflating them with their mouths?! And modeling balloons, which look like long sausages and are used in twisting, are also impossible to inflate without any devices. Let's talk about everything in order.

Air

To decorate rooms, create unusual figures, or organize the release of balloons from the ceiling at a major event, the balloons will be filled with simple air. They do this in the following ways:

· As already mentioned, you can inflate a small number of balloons at home with your mouth. This activity is fun and you can involve all family members in it. Children should not be left alone while playing or blowing up balloons, as this can be dangerous.

· A hand pump is used by aero designers to inflate a small number of balloons to create compositions and figures, and to fill air-filled balloons (balloons for modeling).

· Electric compressors are used by professionals to implement large projects that require a huge number of balls. Some models come with a set of nozzles to make it easier to inflate various balloons. This device is not suitable for home use, as it costs a lot of money.

These are the most effective methods and devices for inflating balloons with ordinary air.

Helium

Hydrogen, neon, helium, methane and carbon dioxide can make the balloons fly. From this list, helium was chosen because it:

· non-toxic, safe;

· It has affordable price;

· creates good lifting force;

· non-flammable and non-explosive.

It is stored and transported in cylinders of different volumes, and the balloons are inflated using a reducer screwed onto the cylinder. Thanks to helium, we can enjoy fancy arches, garlands, fountains and balloon clouds.

Mixture of gases

Giant balloons are in fashion today. They decorate holidays and are used for photo shoots. Filling this giant with helium is not necessary, and it is not profitable. Aerodesigners partially inflate the balloon with helium to enable it to fly, and fill the rest of the space with air using a pump or reducer. Walking balloons are filled in the same way, since a balloon inflated with helium will not fly up along with the weights, and if there is not enough helium, it will lie on the floor.

Water

For hooligan purposes, the balloons are filled with water, creating a kind of “water bomb”. When it falls, it breaks, and the water from it splashes around. “Criminals” are especially happy if some passer-by happens to be nearby. It is worth remembering that the risk of being caught is too great, so it is better to look for more peaceful fun.

These are the most popular options for “fillers” for balls. However, in the field of aerodesign, they come up with something new and creative every day, so at any moment the list can be replenished with unexpected items.

What do you associate the holiday with? Fun, delicious food, and, of course, balloons! It seems that picking up the balls is quite simple, but this is not so. In this article you will find some tips that will help you make balloons one of the main “highlights” of the upcoming celebration.

If you want to surprise the hero of the occasion with an unusual bouquet and you think that fresh flowers are too banal, order a bouquet made from balloons. Such a bouquet will not wither for a very long time and, of course, will certainly please the person for whom it is intended!

Balloons can be a wonderful wedding decoration. They will look great not only in the form of arches or wall compositions: you can make the balls one of the main “characters” of the holiday. For example, a helium balloon with confetti that will burst at the right moment, for example, during the first dance, will be very impressive.

Balloons filled with helium will help you very effectively present any small and fairly light gift. For example, if you put them in a huge box tied with a bow, then as soon as the ribbon is untied, the balls will slowly pull the gift out of the box. Remember: the lifting force of one ball is approximately 1.5 grams! If the thing you want to give weighs too much, you don’t have to tie it up - such a gift will, in any case, be remembered for a long time by all participants of the holiday!

If the celebration will be celebrated in summer time of the year, It is worth remembering that the balls should be chosen in light colors. This is due to the fact that ultraviolet radiation has a destructive effect on latex, which means that the surface of the balls must reflect light.

To ensure that the balls retain their shape in bright sunlight for as long as possible, you can inflate one balloon inside the second: the inner one will maintain the desired shape, and the outer one will take on the destructive effects of light rays.

Don't buy balloons in advance: latex deteriorates quite quickly when overheated or overcooled, and it is not always possible to maintain the optimal temperature regime.

It is not recommended to use balls in rooms where temperature changes occur frequently. This is due to the fact that the air or helium with which the balloons are filled quickly loses its original volume when the temperature changes. The balloons will begin to deflate, and their appearance, instead of delighting the guests, will evoke a slight melancholy.

If you need the composition of balloons to retain its original appearance for as long as possible, use the balloon foiling service. Of course, foil balloons are more expensive than regular ones, but they do not deflate or deform for 10-14 days. These balls are perfect for children's parties: kids will be able to take the balls home and use them as toys for a long time! You can also order balloons treated with a special polymer composition that “seals” the pores in the latex, thereby extending the flight period. Treated balls will delight you up to two to three times longer than regular ones.

Balls can become a replacement for flying lanterns, which are far from safe and can cause fires. You can order special glowing balls: if you release them into the sky at the moment of the culmination of the holiday, the spectacle will be quite spectacular.

If you plan to decorate the room with helium balloons, choose latex or foil balloons. Moreover, if the balls will float under the ceiling, it is better to choose round balls without patterns, which no one will see anyway.

If you want your holiday to be decorated with the brightest balloons, opt for latex ones.

Do you want to decorate the hood of your wedding car with balloons? It’s better to give up this idea: such a “composition” will last no more than one hour’s drive, and if the car accelerates to 50 kilometers per hour, the balls will immediately burst.

If you're planning to add some extra flair to your holiday, then you can use helium balloons for other purposes. Helium, when inhaled, changes a person's voice quite funny, while it is completely harmless to health. Do you want your wedding video to be truly original? Let the guests say their congratulations after inhaling helium into their lungs!

If you decided that balloons would be the best decoration for the upcoming celebration, then you were not mistaken! Bright and light balls will float above the guests like butterflies, creating a wonderful festive mood. Use the tips and ideas above - and the balloons will delight you even longer and make the holiday more memorable and original!

I love you very much Balloons. They always lift my spirits. Unless they burst, of course. I always thought that bright elastic balls were a modern toy. But in fact - no! The history of balloons filled with air began much earlier. Only the great-great-grandfathers of our balls looked completely different from what they do now. And balloons were not born as entertainment at all.

The first mention of balloons flying in the air is found in Karelian manuscripts. They describe the creation of a ball made from... the skin of a whale and an ox! And chronicles of the 12th century say that in Karelian villages almost every family had a balloon. With such balls, they were not afraid of off-road. I need to go to my relatives in the neighboring village, now I’m flying. But it was also dangerous to move on such balloons: the shell could explode if it could not withstand the air pressure. But these are just legends that you can believe or not believe...

There is also evidence that in Europe, animal intestines were used as a ball by traveling artists, surprising the public. The balloon becomes necessary thing for performances and carnivals.

The Russian historian Karamzin writes that the ancient chronicles describe the performances that the buffoons gave to the Grand Duke Vladimir the Saint. They made bubbles from the entrails of the bull, painted them and decorated the room.

The first balls similar to modern ones were made by the famous English scientist Michael Faraday. But he created them not for children, but for experiments with hydrogen gas. And he pumped hydrogen into bags made of rubber. “Rubber is extremely elastic,” Faraday wrote, “bags made from it, when filled with gas, become transparent and acquire lifting force.” And so, by chance, during a scientific experiment, the modern ball was born.

Faraday made his balls like this: he cut out two pieces of rubber, placed them on top of each other, glued them along the edges, and poured flour in the middle so that the sides did not stick to each other.

About 80 years later, the scientific hydrogen bag turned into a popular pastime: rubber balls were widely used in Europe during city holidays. Due to the gas that filled them, they could rise upward, and this was very popular with the public, who had not yet been spoiled by air flights or other miracles of technology.

But the balloons were filled with dangerous hydrogen gas, which can explode. This is what happened in 1922 at one of the holidays in the USA. It was forbidden to fill the balloons with hydrogen. Helium began to be used, and it lifted balloons no worse.

In 1931, the first modern latex balloon was released. And since then, balloons have finally been able to change! Before that, they were only round, but with the advent of latex (plant sap of trees growing in equatorial forests), for the first time it became possible to create long, narrow balls. This innovation found immediate use. Designers who decorate holidays began to create compositions from balloons in the form of dogs, giraffes, airplanes...

Of course, the quality of balloons at that time was not the same as it is now. When inflated, they lost some of their brightness, were fragile and quickly burst. Therefore, balloons slowly lost their popularity. The fact that they could fly in the air in the twentieth century no longer seemed so wonderful, attractive...

But the inventors did not forget about balloons and worked to improve them. And finally the situation has changed! Now the industry produces durable balloons that do not lose color when inflated. Therefore, they have become very popular again - designers willingly use balloons when decorating various holidays.

Every adult has, deep down in their soul, a memory of a bright balloon bursting into the sky. This is probably why even now a gifted balloon gives a good mood and a smile.

A balloon is an indispensable attribute of birthdays, weddings and any other celebrations. And it’s absolutely impossible to imagine a children’s party without it. What is its magic? Maybe in his striving upward, in the ease with which he rises to the sky?

Balloon magic

Modern balloons that can fly are filled with gas. Its density is significantly less than that of air, which allows it to fly higher and higher. The gas, which has a lower density, fills the internal space of the ball and is acted upon by the buoyant force of the air.

The most ordinary balloons can be inflated with your mouth. But such balls cannot fly upward, since the density of carbon dioxide exhaled by a person is lower than the density of air. They require wind to fly. But light gas allows the ball to rush upward on its own.

How the ball learned to fly

The history of the appearance of hot air balloons goes back hundreds of years. There are references to bags made of bull leather tanned by Karelian craftsmen, filled with warm gas, with the help of which they moved over short distances. These evidences date back to the 12th century, but scientists have not found precise evidence of their truth.

And here is a documented chronicle of the birth of balloons:

1. The great-grandfathers of balloons were the results of Michael Faraday's experiment, as a result of which he created rubber bags filled with hydrogen. It was they who began to be used as holiday decorations, flying in the air to the delight of people.
2. A year later, do-it-yourself kits appeared on sale, consisting of a tube of liquid rubber and a can of gas. The children received their first inflatable toys.
3. In 1922, a misfortune occurred, which, however, contributed to the development of the “ball” industry. During a city celebration, balloons filled with hydrogen exploded. Since then, the use of dangerous flammable gas has been stopped and absolutely safe helium has been added to the entertainment.
4. 1931 was the year of birth of latex balloons. Now it is possible to create balls of various shapes for the delight of children.

Nowadays, balloons are produced not only from latex, but also from foil - in various shapes and sizes. Helium or a mixture of helium and air is used for inflation, which guarantees complete safety and gives the balloons the ability to fly far into the sky.