Balloon Garland NYC flies in the wind, and a balloon’s direction changes based on the air pressures pushing against it from both inside and outside. These forces try to even out, but they don’t always succeed.

When a balloon is flying at high altitudes, a variometer helps pilots know whether they are moving up or down. This is important because the air pressures are very different at those heights.

A balloon is an inflatable flexible bag filled with gas such as helium, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrous oxide, or air. It is usually made from latex, polychloroprene, or nylon fabric and comes in many colors. The balloon can be inflated with the mouth, a manual or electric inflater, or a compressed gas source. The larger a balloon is, the more it holds its shape when inflated. Smaller balloons are easier to deflate.

A helium balloon will retain its buoyancy for only about a day because the enclosed helium atoms escape through the pores in the latex. Balloons inflated with hydrogen or other gases lighter than air can remain inflated for much longer because the atoms are less dense. In addition to gases, the balloon can be inflated with smoke, liquid water, granular media such as sand or rice, or light sources (see balloon modeling).

The elasticity of a balloon allows it to return to its original size and shape after being stretched. This is due to the fact that the forces pushing against the balloon are proportional to its mass and the speed of its movement. In a hot-air balloon, the burning gas makes the air inside the balloon lighter than the surrounding atmosphere, and so it rises. It can also descend by opening a vent on the side of the basket that is sealed, initially, like the deflation port, by hook-and-loop closure. The vent is operated by a rope called the maneuvering vent line, which extends from the vent to the pilot. The pilot pulls this line, releasing the hot air to stop a rate of ascent or to initiate a descent.

The inflated bag can be used for entertaining purposes, such as inflating dolls or animals, or it may be made of extra-stretchy rubber so that it can be twisted and tied to make sculptures, especially the shapes of birds, fish, butterflies and flowers. In some countries, trained professionals called balloon artists can create such sculptures. Other balloons are used in science and industry, for meteorology, medical treatment, military defense, transportation or communication. Balloon payments are the final principal balance due on a loan that is considerably higher than the monthly installment payments. This type of loan is often favored by commercial lenders to reduce financing costs for new business ventures, in the hope that the borrower will be able to pay off the loan with future profits from the business.

Origin

Long before there was such a thing as rubber, humans were experimenting with balloons, using animals’ bladders. The Montgolfier brothers inflated their first hot air balloon in 1782. When it reached the desired altitude, they sent a sheep, duck and cockerel on board. This early balloon was used for experiments and for entertainment. The brothers were the first to fly a gas balloon with passengers and to make frequent flights. They also probed air currents with hydrogen-filled balloons, information which helped later aviation.

A balloon may be inflated with a variety of gases, including helium, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrous oxide and water. Its fabric is often made of nylon, a plastic called polychloroprene or a metalized plastic like Mylar. Its shape and the material it is constructed from determine its properties and applications.

Unlike the traditional hot air balloon, which travels with the wind, a dirigible (or airship) is propelled by an engine or motor. The Montgolfier brothers were instrumental in the development of this later technology, which revolutionized passenger transportation and eventually led to space travel.

The balloon is also an important toy, especially for children. The first rubber balloons were simple: two round sheets of raw rubber (caoutchouc), glued together with flour to prevent their edges from sticking, and formed into the shape of an animal. The pig balloon was particularly popular.

When a balloon is dipped in acid, it sometimes develops twin shades, which gives it an alligator-like appearance. Other balloons have been sculpted to look like a particular person or object.

In addition to their recreational use, balloons have spawned a wide variety of practical applications. The inflatable cylinders have been used for scientific research and for military purposes, such as airborne radar. They have been used to send messages, and to carry medical instruments, food, medicines and even people to remote places where ground transportation is impractical.

Balloon sculpting is an art form that has developed over the past few decades. It is a skill that requires practice and the proper equipment. Balloon sculpting can be done on a small scale for home use or at public events. It is used for entertainment, advertising and decoration.

Properties

A balloon is a fabric envelope filled with gas that is lighter than air, which makes it rise in the atmosphere. It has a basket attached underneath that carries passengers or payload. It can be steered in the sky by burning to go up or letting it cool down to come down and catch different air streams at different altitudes. The balloon’s shape, thermal properties, and the rotation of its gondola due to relative winds are all important factors that influence the direction of flight.

The properties of a balloon are determined by the chemical makeup and molecular structure of the polymer used to make it, which is often rubber latex. It comes from the sap of the Hevea brasiliensis tree, and is processed with curing agents, accelerators, oil, colorants, and water before being used in balloon manufacturing. This natural material is biodegradable, and its decomposition begins almost immediately upon being inflated. Heat speeds this process, as does exposure to sunlight.

Balloons can be inflated by breathing or using a pump. The neck of the balloon, however, must be sufficiently large to resist the pressure generated by the expanding gases. The balloon must also be made with a lip to prevent the inflation outlet from collapsing on itself or sealing itself shut.

The pressure inside a balloon is proportional to its volume, and when it is fully blown up, the balloon expands to match its new, larger volume. This expansion is caused by a combination of internal forces and the external air pressure (Archimedes’ principle). The resulting increase in air pressure causes the balloon to rise.

When a balloon is inflated, the stress-strain curve has an S-shape. The balloon initially stiffens as the stress increases, then starts stretching and inflating. Once the balloon is firmly stretched and inflating, the tension decreases and the strain curve flattens. This is because the stresses are balanced.

The elasticity of a balloon is determined by its molecule structure. Its molecules are cross-linked, forming long chains with multiple bonds. This provides a high degree of flexibility and enables the material to stretch without rupture. A dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA) is used to test a balloon’s elasticity. Nylon and Pebax balloons are tested, and the results show that stretching dramatically increases the tensile strength of both materials. The elasticity of the materials is further enhanced by a change in crystallinity. In nylon, the crystalline structures in the tubes are predominantly g phases, while Pebax has more a phases. This results in a lower value for the tan (energy dissipation) parameter.

Applications

In addition to providing communication in remote areas, balloons can help monitor the environment. They are especially useful in the case of natural disasters because they can be deployed quickly and without the need for costly infrastructure like laying cables or building cell towers. They can also be moved from place to place as conditions change, making them a flexible alternative to satellites.

A balloon is typically made from latex or a polychloroprene fabric, with special versions designed for different purposes. Some are filled with gases, such as helium or hydrogen, while others contain liquids such as water or sand, powdered media, and light sources. A variety of shapes are available, including circular, spherical, elliptical, and square. The shape and surface texture of the balloon determines its ability to achieve lift, with smoother surfaces able to generate more lift than rougher ones.

To make a balloon fly, it is inflated with hydrogen or helium gas. Alternatively, it can be filled with air that is heated to decrease its density and thus increase the lift. This is known as solar ballooning.

Although a balloon is usually not steerable, it can be flown in certain directions by varying the gas burning inside it or changing its direction of travel as it reaches different altitudes. A skillful pilot can use this to navigate around weather systems or pollution in the air.

Other applications include scientific research and military reconnaissance. Balloons are less expensive and require less time to plan and develop than a space mission, so they can be used to test new technologies before using them on a larger scale in outer space.

One of the most exciting applications is the possibility of a balloon-based Internet, which has the potential to bring high-speed Internet access to remote and underserved communities. A balloon-based network would operate much like a satellite, but with lower costs and the flexibility to move to different locations as conditions change. This is particularly appealing to developing nations where the cost of deploying traditional infrastructure like laying cables or building cell towers can be prohibitive. To provide this service, a balloon would be equipped with wireless communications technology and solar power.