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Introduction to Balloons

The word ‘Balloons’ conjures up pictures in your mind of simple balloons you blow up for kid’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 want.
When you think about it, a balloon is a very strange item. It is something that stretches when filled with air or some other type of gas, such as Helium or hydrogen and is very fragile so that it can easily pop. The very early balloons would have been made with non-elastic material but modern dayballoons 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 provide a festive atmosphere.

History of Balloons

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.

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 balloon industry 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 fit the occasion.

Some balloons are purely for decoration, others are ideal for individual uses 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 Types of Balloons

Good Old Party Balloons

The most familiar types of balloons are the ones we are used to seeing at parties, particularly a child’s party. These are usually 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 generally made of natural Latex tapped from rubber trees. The rubber’s elasticity makes the dimensions variable. Balloons filled with air usually 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. You can order cartoon images displayed on printed balloons that become larger than life once inflated.

Foil Balloons

The foil balloon or Mylar balloons first appeared during the late 1970s. They are slightly more expensive 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. Foil balloons have a nice high gloss reflective finish and can be printed with colour images, branding and patterns to customise them. The most important attribute of metalized nylon for balloons is its capacity to retain the Helium gas from escaping for several weeks because it is less porus. Foil balloons also have the advantage of being light weight, longer-lasting with improved buoyancy. They are ideal for extraordinary celebrations, in-store displays, parties and for gifts. At our gran’s 90′th birthday party in April one of the members of the family brought along a foil balloon with 90 printed on it to add to the party atmosphere.

Balloons Shaped as Animals

Animal shaped balloons 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 unique pieces make a very bright decorative impact for that special event. Balloons in animal shapes may be used as gifts or as a talking point at your special event.

Rockets from Balloons

Inflating a balloon and releasing it go without tying it is as game most children enjoy at some time or another (and adults too)! The rude noise it makes generally has most people falling about laughing as it speeds about the place. This game is teaching the children basically how a rocket works and they are called balloon rockets. As a youngster I can remember being enthralled as I learned how they worked.

When the mouth of the balloon is released, the balloon contracts so that the higher pressure of air inside is forced out causing the balloon to be propelled forward. This is in effect how a rocket works. The balloon can also be inflated with different gases other than air, with similar results. Balloon rockets are a widely used a teaching device to show the principles in laws of nature of the functioning of a rocket. The balloon rocket is also regularly used to demonstrate Newton’s third law in physics.

Water Balloons

The water balloons are obviously filled with water and are intended for kids to chuck at each other as a game or practical joke with the aim of getting each other wet through. They are often not as big as normal balloons and made from weaker rubber so that they can be easily broken.

Helium Balloons

The reason Helium balloons float upwards 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 float time of a Helium balloon the inside of the balloons can be coated with a special polymer solution which reduces the leakage of the Helium for a week or more. Helium is a gas which is lighter than air causing Helium balloons skyward unless held down by a weight.

Balloon Sculpting
Balloon Sculptures are made from hundreds 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 constructed so they are possible. These sculptures are usually made and designed by professional party decorators as it is a very 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 feature at your gathering. The balloons need to be precision filled 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 weddings which may have 3 or five balloons with an arrangement of flowers. The decoration will normally include curled ribbon tied to a weight to stop the balloons from floating away.

Balloon Art and Modelling

Balloon modelling is a popular entertainment for children and adults alike and is not to be confused with balloon sculptures discussed above. The Latex used for balloon modelling is made of extra-stretchy rubber so that it can be manipulated and tied without popping when making the balloon model. A Balloon modelling artist twists and ties the inflated modelling balloons into shapes resembling animals, people or hats. When I have watched these artists at work I am always anxious that the balloons will burst when they are twisting and tying their creations. These tiny modelling balloons are extremely tricky to inflate and usually need a pump to get them started, until you have developed the lungs for it.

Mass Balloon Drops

Most people have seen a party or dance where at the end of the evening lots of balloons are dropped 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 creating a festive atmosphere at the party climax, so everyone goes home feeling they have had a really great evening. By printing messages or logos on the balloons they can also be an advertising tool at the event.

It is possible to create your own balloon drop for that special event providing you have a room with enough height. 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 lend a hand with blowing up 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 works so that the balloons will drop onto the target area below when they are let go. You will also need to create a mechanism for releasing the balloons. Balloon drops may also be performed at many other celebrations, including graduations and weddings.
Sometimes you will observeadvertising balloons positioned overhead which are either hot air balloons or large Helium filled balloons so that they can stay afloat for many hours.

Mass 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 conduct that is available on their website at www.nabas.co.uk

If you are planning a balloon release of more than 5,000 balloons, it is a requirement 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

Environmental Concerns and Balloon Safety

Latex is a natural product from rubber trees that are cultivated in certain regions of the tropics, so balloons are completely organic being manufactured from natural rubber Latex (NRL). These trees are not cleared to produce the NRL. The NRL is obtained by tapping mature trees and is an vital 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 yet another casualty of the clearance of land for arable use. 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 pleasure and excitement for many years at celebratory events such as parties, product launches and conferences throughout the world. They have been an educational tool as well as providing hours of fun 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.