Step 48

Introduction to Balloons

The word ‘Balloons’ conjures up pictures in your mind of simple balloons you inflate for kid’s parties, or balloons that fly off on their own, or the special balloons for big events like the ones produced for the wedding of Charles and Diana? There are so many different types of balloons available that you can get almost anything for any event you want.
When you think about it, a balloon is a very strange item. It is something that expands when filled with air or some other type of gas, such as Helium or hydrogen and is very fragile so that it can easily burst. The very first balloons would have been made with non-stretch material but modern balloons have great elasticity because they are made of Latex and can be pumped up to create much larger sizes than earlier ones.

Balloon History

The first known balloons were very primitive in that they were made out of the bowels of cats. The Aztec Indians in Central and Southern America carefully cleaned out the cat gut, turned it inside out and stitched it with special vegetable thread that stuck to itself when dried in the sun creating an almost airtight seal. The balloons were shaped into model animals and then filled with air to be burnt on the top of the Aztec pyramid as an offering to the sun god. This was probably the first example of balloon modelling. Early balloons were made of animal guts and were turned into play things for the local youngsters.

The first public demonstration of a balloon was at the Portuguese Court in Lisbon in 1809 by a Portuguese priest, Bartolomeu de Gusmao, and was probably likely to be made from an animal bladder that stretched when filled with air. The modern rubber balloon was invented in eighteen twenty four by Michael Faraday the renowned English chemist and physicist who invented, amongst other many other things, the Faraday cage and he also made huge contributions to the fields electromagnetism and electrochemistry. The balloons Faraday used were filled with hydrogen for his experiments with Hydrogen, but the more common Latex balloon did not appear until 1847. Although the Latex balloon was manufactured in London in the mid eighteen hundreds and early rubber balloons were sold in America in parks and circuses for a penny each; the mass production of them did not occur until a hundred years later in nineteen thirty one.

The world of balloons became more advanced as they developed in line with technology. Now balloons are made from rubber Latex, polychloroprene or nylon and may be inflated with air, Helium, hydrogen or water. Inflating the balloon with air can be done with the mouth, a manual hand pump, electric inflator, foot pump or with compressed gas. Balloons are used for many differing purposes, and decorated in numerous ways to suit the circumstance. Balloons are usually used for entertainment or displays.

Some balloons are purely for decorative reasons, others are ideal for specific purposes because of their low density and are relatively cheap to procure. The balloon’s properties have led to them being used in a wide range of other applications in the areas of meteorology, military defence, medical treatment, and transportation.

What are all the types of Balloons Available?

Balloons for Parties

The most common types of balloons are the ones we are used to seeing at parties, generally a child’s party. These are frequently bought in small packets and blown up by mouth or with a pump to create a festive scene for children’s parties and other kinds of celebratory events. These days you often see a balloon cluster at the entrance to a house or hall to indicate where the party is being held, it has almost become a universal indicator of a party in progress! The balloons come in many different sizes and colours and can have printing on the face which expands as the balloon is blown up. Party balloons are mostly made of natural Latex tapped from rubber trees. The rubber’s elasticity makes the size variable. Balloons filled with air will hold their size and shape much longer than those filled with Helium.This is because Helium particles are so small they can escape between the Latex molecules, apparently!

There is a great range of colours for balloons and many different sizes due to the flexibility of the material from which they are made. Toy balloons can be a great feature of children’s parties to help make it an exciting event.

Foil Balloons

The foil balloon or Mylar balloons first appeared during the late 1970s. They are slightly more costly than Latex balloons and are made of thin non-stretch metalized plastic film or Mylar. The first time I had ever seen them was when they made an appearance at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana and they caused quite a stir. Mylar balloons have beautiful shiny reflective finish and can be printed with colour images, logos and patterns to customise them. The most useful aspect of metalized nylon for balloons is its ability to keep the Helium gas from leaking for several weeks because it is less permeable. Foil balloons also have the advantage of being light weight, longer-lasting with increased buoyancy. They are perfect for extraordinary celebrations, in-store displays, parties and for gifts. At our gran’s ninetieth birthday celebration a few weeks ago my son’s girlfriend brought along a foil balloon with 90 printed on it to add to the festive occasion.

Balloons in Animal Shapes

Balloons shaped like animals are ade from metalized nylon which can easily be cut into pieces so that when sewn together they make the three dimensional shapes of animals. Screen printing the appropriate design on the model, makes the chosen animal come realistically alive. Once inflated, these unique pieces make a very bright decorative impact for that special event. Balloons shaped like animals may be used as gifts or as a talking point at your special event.

Rockets from Balloons

Blowing up a balloon and letting it go before tying it is as game most kids play at some time or another (and adults too)! The rude noise it makes usually has everyone falling about laughing as it zooms about the building in a random manner. This demonstration is an experiment in how a rocket works and they are called balloon rockets. As a child I can remember being intrigued as I learned why it did that.

When the top of the balloon is let-go, the elasticity of the balloon contracts so that the greater pressure of air inside is forced out causing the balloon to be propelled forward. This is in essence how a rocket works. The balloon can also be filled with different gases other than air, with similar results. Balloon rockets are a widely used a teaching device to demonstrate the principles in science of the functioning of a rocket. The balloon rocket is also frequently used to demonstrate Newton’s third law in physics.

Water Balloons

The water balloons are obviously filled with water and are intended for children to fling at each other as a game or practical joke with the aim of getting each other soaked. They are normally smaller than normal sized balloons and made from weaker rubber so that they can be easily broken.

Helium Filled Balloons

The reason Helium balloons float up is because they are filled with Helium gas which is lighter than air. So for an event where balloons are set off into the air, they will all be Helium filled balloons. If the Helium balloons are rubber balloons they usually only retain their buoyancy for a few days. This is because the Latex has pores that are bigger than the enclosed Helium atoms so the Helium gradually seeps out. To increase the float time of a Helium balloon the inside of the balloons can be coated with a special polymer solution which lessens the leakage of the Helium for a week or more. Having even just one foil Helium filled balloon at a small party can create a special effect to enhance the occasion.All Helium balloons at races and releases are made of 100% bio-degradable Latex rubber.

Sculpting with Balloons
Balloon Sculptures are made from 100′s of balloons to create a solid structure such as a balloon arch, wall or statute. Other shapes are more difficult, but on occasion more ambitious sculptures have been attempted so they are possible. These works of art are usually made and designed by professional balloon modellers as it is a very skilled job. Balloon sculptures are really quite constrained because of the shape of the balloons but with clever colour choice simple arches or walls can make an impressive design at your special event. The balloons need to be precision filled with exactly the same amount of gas and to do this professional balloon party decorators use electronic equipment to deliver the exact amount of Helium into the balloon. For non-floating balloons air inflators are used. Industrial quality balloons differ from most retail packet balloons as they are larger in size, stronger and made from 100% biodegradable Latex. Sometimes Helium balloons are used as table decorations for grand dinner parties which may have three or 5 balloons with an arrangement of flowers. The decoration will generally include curled ribbon with an added weight to keep the balloons on the table.

Modelling and Art with Balloons

Balloon modelling is a fascinating entertainment for children and adults alike and should be confused with balloon sculptures discussed previously. The Latex employed by balloon modellers is made of extra-stretchy rubber so that it can be twisted and shaped and tied without popping when making the balloon model. A Balloon modelling artist twists and ties the inflated modelling balloons into shapes of animals, people or hats. When you watch a balloon modeller at work you half expect that the balloons will pop when they are twisting and tying their handy work. These tiny modelling balloons are extremely tricky to inflate and often need a pump to get them started.

Mass Balloon Drops

Most people have seen a party or dance where at the end of the night hundreds of balloons fall from the ceiling to create excitement and fun amongst the party guests. This is called a balloon drop and is often performed at events such as New Year’s Eve celebrations or at political rallies and conventions. It is a relatively low budget way of making a festive atmosphere at the party climax, so everyone goes away feeling they have had a really good time.

It is possible to create your own balloon drop for your special event providing you have a room with high enough ceilings. To begin with you will need to set up a large plastic bag or net overhead, which is suspended at the required height. Get your other organisers to help with inflating balloons as it can take a long time to do the number needed. Then insert the inflated balloons into the net and make sure the opening is central so that the balloons will fall onto the target area below when they are released. You will also need to develop a mechanism for releasing the balloons. Balloon drops Can also be performed at many other celebrations, such as graduations and weddings.
For balloons arches balloon decorators will use balloons made from stronger Latex than normal balloons.

Balloon Releases

Due to concerns about the impact on the environment of a large amount of balloons being released, the NABAS – The Balloon Association have produced a code of conduct that is available on their website at www.nabas.co.uk

If you are preparing a balloon release involving 5,000 balloons, it is an obligation that you apply in writing for permission to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) at least 28 days in advance. The CAA also like to be notified about balloon releases of less than 5,000. An application form can be obtained by calling either the NABAS office on 01989 762 204 or the Airspace Utilisation Section of the CAA on 020 7453 6599

Balloon Safety and The Environment

Latex is a natural product obtained from rubber trees that are cultivated in certain areas of the tropics, so balloons are completely environmentally friendly being manufactured from natural rubber Latex (NRL). These trees are not harvested to produce the NRL. The NRL is harvested by tapping older plants and is an indespensible sustainable crop providing employment for many agricultural labourers in some of the poorest regions of the world. Latex is a sustainable harvest that is not harmful to the environment and the economy of the country in which the rubber trees are grown.

The planting and maintenance of rubber tree plantations contributes towards the prevention of tropical rainforest deforestation. Without the cultivation and the consumption of Latex products the plantations may very well become just another object of the clearance of land for farming. One of the great benefits of NRL cultivation is the appreciable contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere that is produced by industrialised nations and is a major source of global warming. The tropical regions in which rubber trees grow are often in some of the poorest parts of the world, so an industry from such a sustainable source is a vital income for the population.

Conclusion

The toy balloon has been a source of delight and excitement for many years at celebratory events such as parties, product launches and conferences throughout the world. They have been an educational resource as well as providing hours of entertainment and interest for children and adults alike. Non toy balloons are used for experiments in science, as an aid for heart repair in medicine and even as a form of travel as in the hydrogen air ship idea. Balloons are invaluable in helping us to learn about our world and some of the properties of physics.

When you think about it balloons are a major part of modern day life, did you realise?

Popular Blog

Related posts:

1. Balloons For Stag Nights What is balloon printing? Balloon printing is quite simply the...
2. How Green are Promotional Balloons? Introduction There are people who have some concerns about the...
3. The Balloon Arch Introduction  Whenever there is a special event being held, the...
4. Why Do You Want To Make Stress Balls? Stress Balls are simple, affordable and fun ways to relieve...
5. The Advantages Of Latex Mattress Toppers? The majirity of consumers are specifically looking for latex mattress...