How to fill a balloon. What are balloons filled with? Molecules at different temperatures

Now I am planning to promote a page on the topic of balloons to the TOP.

I decided to educate the public a little and talk about balloons facts that may seem interesting. Let's start with them, so!

Popular balloon shapes

Probably, there is no need to talk for a long time about the shape of balloons, everyone knows them. The most popular form is the ellipsoid of revolution - a figure that appears when the ellipse rotates along one of its axes. The classic ball shape is also popular.

Heart-shaped balloons are extremely popular on Valentine's Day.

Another popular shape of balloons is the so-called “sausage” - a long ellipsoid. This long ellipsoid can be given any shape by bending the ball in the right places. This is how the shapes of rings, knots, and animals are obtained. A great opportunity to show your imagination!

And, of course, there are a huge number of balloons in the shape of various animals and flowers.

Types of balloons

There are different types of balloons, among which the following should be noted:

Standard Balloons made of latex.
Modeling balloons- those same “sausages” that can be given any shape.
Packaging balloons used as storage for things. They have a wide neck and are usually transparent or translucent.
Balls with double tails used to create complex spatial structures.
Balloons can inflate on their own due to a chemical reaction.
. They are usually filled with helium, and inside them there is a weight that is needed to prevent the figure from flying away. As a result, such a figure sways in any breeze.
Mylar (foil) balloons.

Filling balloons

Balloons can be filled with either gas or water. Filling with water is used for various hooliganism: for example, you can throw such a ball in front of a passerby from the balcony, which brings a lot of laughter and positive emotions (usually the passerby himself does not find it funny, although rare individuals come across). This type of ball was even called a “water bomb”.

The most popular gases are helium, hydrogen, methane, neon and nitrogen. These gases are lighter than oxygen, which allows balloons filled with them to float upward. The most popular is helium or a helium-air mixture, as this gas is safe and also non-toxic.

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:

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.
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.
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.
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, guaranteeing complete safety and giving the balls the ability to fly far into the sky.

Balloons rise upward because the gas they fill is lighter than the surrounding air. Many gases, particularly hydrogen and helium, have lower densities than air. This means that at a given temperature they have less mass per unit volume than air.

When such light gases are pumped into a balloon, it will rise until the total weight of the gas shell, basket, weight and cables is less than the weight of the air displaced by the balloon. (Since air is considered in physics as a liquid medium, the same law applies here as for bodies immersed in a liquid.) Hot air, which has a lower density compared to cold air, also rises. Although hot air is not as light as some gases, it is safer and easily produced by propane torches mounted under the neck of the balloon shell, which is usually made of lightweight fabric such as reinforced nylon. Balloons filled with hot air usually remain in flight for several hours, but without additional heating of the air inside the shell they will gradually lose altitude.

Molecules at different temperatures

When the air is cold, the molecules move slowly and are close together.
When the air heats up, it canThe molecules begin to move faster and diverge to the sides, filling a larger volume.
Since the heated aircontinues to expand, it becomes less dense.
When cooling the air itmolecules lose their speed, volume decreases, and density increases.

The balloon lies on its side. Propane torches heat the air inside the shell, which causes it to swell and rise.
Hot, light air (picture below the text) rises up inside the shell and then flows down along its walls. Cold air is squeezed out through the neck, the weight of the shell with air decreases and the balloon rises.
Pilots maintain or increase their altitude by periodically turning on the burners. As long as the air inside the shell is hotter than the outside air, the lift force overcomes the force of gravity.
The balloon descends as the air filling it cools and contracts. Pilots can speed up their descent by releasing hot air through a hole at the top of the balloon.

Interaction of pressure, volume and temperature

Interdependence of three parameters. The pressure, volume and temperature of a gas are interrelated. At room temperature (near right), the movement of gas molecules inside the vessel creates a certain pressure. If the volume is > half as large (middle picture on the right), the internal pressure doubles. When air heats up (far right), its pressure increases and its volume increases in proportion to the temperature.

I really love 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 balloon made from latex. 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.

It would seem that what could be simpler and clearer than a 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).

· The electric compressor is used by professionals to implement large projects that require huge amount 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;

· has an 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.

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