how high would a novelty helium baloon rise into the sky before it popped?

Answer 1

Some novelty balloon are as large a 6 foot in diameter. But we will assume that you are dealing with a 1 foot diameter 300mm balloon.
Also the ambient temperature plays a role so we will assume you are about halfway between equator and north pole on an average summer day say 70 degrees Celsius.
Wind speed we will negate, as you will pick an absolutely calm day.
Thus you have two fundamental forces that of gravity on the balloon. And the lift caused by a difference of atomic weight of the helium vs air.
Then one must run tests to determine at what circumference the novelty balloon will burst, and the air pressure at various elevations.
We will assume the balloon can double in volume before exploding and that air pressure goes down geometrically as the balloon rises (this is not true by the way) (some balloon will pop before others and air pressure vary's from day to day area by area etc.)
Using all these estimated averages I predict that your balloon will reach a height of 5 kilometers before bursting.
However experience in the field has shown me that they usually rise so gradually that they first develop a slow leak and then float gently back to earth as they lose their helium.
There they are frequently eaten by some poor animal who dies as a result of your experiment so please do not do this at home Thanx

Answer 2

It will rise to a point and stop climbing depending upon the OAT Outside Air Temperature. There will be a point in time that the air pressure/temperature combination will produce a force on the balloon that will EQUAL the weight of the helium/balloon combination. Helium does not RISE per se. Balloons do not RISE, they are PUSHED UP by the air surrounding them. SO when the weight of the air that is surrounding the balloon is equal to the weight of the balloon, it will stop rising. You can do an experiment on Earth in your automobile. Get a balloon. toss it in the seat beside of you. Now get the car going about 60 mph and stop quickly. The balloon is PUSHED BACK TOWARDS THE TRUNK! Why? Because the air inside the car weighs more than the balloon and the air rushes forward. The light helium filled balloon is pushed backwards opposite what you'd think. Now the book in the back window that smacked you in the back of the head is more dense than the air so it moves forward and pushes the air backwards out of its way.

Answer 3

depends how much you filled the balloon... If it was just under the point of maximum inflation then possibly ten feet. But as you go up into the atmosphere where it would presumably rise (helium being the second lightest gas) it gets very cold and would probably shrink if filled to regular size. If you mean those cheap silver baloons then I have no idea. I would still assume it would depend on how full it was. Maybe 30 thousand feet or so...
Good luck and maybe a baloon engineer will answer your question, as he would know the atm's pressure, temperature and effects on the baloon in question. As for me.... no clue.

Answer 4

Obviously, this question cannot be answered quantitatively because there is a wide range of novelty helium ballon materials and strengths.

The balloon will only rise until the density of the atmosphere is equal to the average density of the balloon including helium and attachments. At that point it would no longer be lighter than the atmosphere around it and would no longer rise.

I believe most novelty balloons of the "foil" type could withstand the prressure differential at the maximum float height.

Perhaps the myth-busters will put one in a vacuum chamber and prove it.

Answer 5

It wouldn't necessarily pop, but with lower density of air, the higher it gets the more it slows down. Perhaps it might go up high enough that the helium condenses into a liquid or solid and fall back down to earth, theoretically speaking, of course, it would have to reach ridiciously low temperatures.

Answer 6

No idea, but i saw Thomas the Tank Engine pop through the clouds once and it became a blip that disappeared eventually.

Answer 7

depends where you do it, in forest about 5 feet, in the middle of the desert hard to say.

Answer 8

wow. your answerers are all geniues. how good imaginations. its very hard to answer a question especially if it is dificult to do and observe. Well good luck if you'll gonna try it.