Introduction to Balloons
The word ‘Balloons’ conjures up thoughts in your mind of simple balloons you inflate for children’s parties, or balloons that fly off on their own, or the special balloons for key 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 need. Balloons are a bright, bouncy item that can be used for many different purposes, including kid’s or adult parties, product launches for advertising or promotional events.
When you think about it, a balloon is quite an odd 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 early balloons would have been made with non-stretch material but modern balloons have great elasticity because they are made of Latex and can be filled up to create much larger sizes than earlier ones. Balloons come in many different sizes and colours and can brighten up any event and create a festive atmosphere.
Balloon History
The first known balloons were very simple in that they were made out of the bowels of animals. 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.
The first public showing of a balloon was at the Portuguese Court in Lisbon in seventeen hundred and nine by a Portuguese priest, Bartolomeu de Gusmao, and was most 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 science experiments with Hydrogen, but the more familiar Latex balloon did not appear until eighteen forty seven. Although the Latex balloon was manufactured in London in the mid 1800’s 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 filled 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 various differing purposes, and decorated in numerous ways to suit the occasion. Balloons are usually used for entertainment or displays.
Some balloons are purely for decorative reasons, others are ideal for individual purposes because of their low density and relatively low cost. 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. There are many different types of balloons which can be categorised under different headings.
Different Balloon Types
Good Old Party Balloons
The most widely recognised types of balloons are the ones we are used to seeing at parties, particularly a child’s party. These are often bought in small packets and blown up by volunteers 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 sometimes which expands as the balloon is inflated. Party balloons are usually made of natural Latex tapped from rubber trees. The rubber’s elasticity makes the volume variable. Balloons filled with air always 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!
The first recorded,The earliest examples of balloons appear to be made from animal gut which had elastic properties.
Foil Balloons
The foil balloon or Mylar balloons first appeared during the late 1970s. They are slightly more high priced 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 Spencer and they caused quite a stir. These balloons have beautiful shiny reflective finish and can be supplied with colour pictures, branding and styles to customise them. The most crucial aspect of metalized nylon for balloons is its propensity to retain the Helium gas from leaking for several weeks because it is less permeable. Foil balloons also have the benefit of being light weight, longer-lasting with increased buoyancy. They are perfect for special celebrations, in-store displays, parties and for gifts. At my Mum’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 occasion .Mylar balloons or foil balloons can also be made into various shapes and can be printed with patterns to advertise an event.
Animal-Shaped Balloons
Balloons shaped like animals are ade from metalized nylon which can easily be cut into pieces so that when stuck 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 pretty items make a very bright decorative show 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 without tying it is as game most youngsters play at some time or another (and adults too)! The rude noise it makes always has all but the really stone faced falling about laughing as it zooms about the building in a random manner. This game is teaching the children basically how a rocket works and they are called balloon rockets. As a child I can remember being fascinated as I learned how they worked.
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 essentially how a rocket works. The balloon can also be inflated with different gases other than air, producing the same results. Balloon rockets are a widely used a teaching device to show the principles in science of the functioning of a rocket. The balloon rocket is also regularly used to demonstrate Newton’s third law in physics. Children can have hours of fun playing with balloons as a balloon rocket. The randomness of where they will go adds much laughter to the game.
Balloons and Water
The water balloons are obviously filled with water and are intended for children to lob at each other as a game or practical joke with the aim of getting each other wet. They are quite often smaller than normal balloons and made from weaker rubber so that they can be easily broken. Water balloons are often used in competitions or games.
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 generally only retain their buoyancy for a few days. This is because the Latex has pores that are larger than the enclosed Helium atoms so the Helium gradually seeps out. To increase the buoyancy period 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. Balloon races can only be done with Helium balloons. If air filled balloons were used they would never get off the ground.
Balloon Sculpting
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 a bit more challenging, but on occasion more ambitious sculptures have been built so they are possible. These sculptures are usually made and designed by professional party decorators as it is a skilled job. Balloon sculptures are really quite limited because of the round shape of the balloons but with intelligent colour choice simple arches or walls can make an impressive design at your gathering. The balloons need to be precision filled and to do this professional balloon sculptors use electronic equipment to deliver the exact amount of Helium into the balloon. For non-floating balloons air inflators are used. Industrial grade balloons differ from most retail packet balloons as they are bigger in size, stronger and made from 100% biodegradable Latex. Sometimes Helium balloons are used as table decorations for special events which may have 3 or 5 balloons with an arrangement of flowers. The decoration will normally include curled ribbon tied to a weight to keep the balloons on the table.
Modelling and Art with Balloons
Balloon modelling is a fantastic entertainment for children and adults alike and is not to be confused with balloon sculptures discussed above. The Latex employed by balloon modellers is made of extra-stretchy rubber so that it can be manipulated and tied without bursting when making the balloon model. A Balloon modelling artist twists and ties the inflated tubular balloons into shapes resembling animals, people or hats. When I have watched these artists at work I am always anxious that the balloons will pop when they are twisting and tying their creations. These tiny modelling balloons are extremely tricky to inflate and often need a pump to get them started.
Mass Balloon Drops
I am sure you will have been to a party or dance where at the end of the evening hundreds of balloons fall from the ceiling to create excitement and fun amongst the party guests. This is known as a balloon drop and is often performed at parties such as New Year’s Eve celebrations or at political rallies and conventions. It is a relatively low cost way of making a festive atmosphere at the party climax, so everyone goes home feeling they have had a really great evening.
It is possible to setup your own balloon drop for your special event as long as you have a room with high enough ceilings. Firstly you will need to set up a large plastic bag or net overhead, which is suspended at the required height, to hold the balloons. Get your assistants to help with blowing up balloons as it can take quite a while to do the number needed. Then pile the inflated balloons into the net and make sure the opening works so that the balloons will drop onto the target area below when they are released. You will also need to develop a mechanism for releasing the balloons, and make sure you have thoroughly tested it so everything goes to plan at the big moment. Balloon drops may also be employed for many other celebrations, such as graduations and weddings.
For balloons arches a stronger Latex balloon is used, instead of regular balloons.
Balloon Releases
Due to concerns about the bearing on the environment of a large amount of balloons being released, the NABAS - The Balloon Association have produced a code of practise that is available on their website at www.nabas.co.uk
If you are arranging a balloon release of more than 5,000 balloons, it is a necessity 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 informed of balloon races of less than 5,000. An application form can be acquired by calling either the NABAS office on 01989 762 204 or the Airspace Utilisation Section of the CAA on 020 7453 6599
Environmental Concerns and Balloon Safety
Latex is an organic product obtained from rubber trees that are grown 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 extract the NRL. The NRL is harvested by tapping older trees and is an crucial sustainable crop providing employment for many agricultural labourers in some of the poorest regions of the world.
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 advantages of NRL cultivation is the noticeable 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 happiness 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 play 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.