If a Truck is loaded with Helium, would it weigh less than when it was empty?If so would it get better mpg?

Answer 1

It would depend on the amount of Helium within the truck.

Just because Helium is lighter (less dense) than air does not mean that it does not have mass (and thus weight).
For a given volume of Helium and air at the same pressure, the Helium would have less mass. However, if one pressurized the Helium and/or had enough moles of the gas, one could actually be increasing the overall weight of the car by adding the Helium.
In orer to lighten the car, the idea would be to displace the surrounding "fluid" (air) but at the same time, by adding as little additional mass as possibe.

Any effects of Helium upon the overall weight of the vehicle will be totally negligible using any normal amount of Helium. One would need a small blimp's worth of Helium to have any real effect.

Answer 2

Helium Truck

Answer 3

If you replaced the air in the cab of your truck with helium it would weigh slightly less. There are two flaws in your quest to get better gas mileage in this manner. Compared to the weight of the truck, the weight you would lose is insignificant. The other problem is that you would die if you drove your truck full of helium because you need oxygen. You could take an oxygen tank with you so you can breath but the tank probably weighs more than the difference between the weight of air and the weight of helium.

Answer 4

It would depend on a number of variables. For example, if the helium was at a high pressure, its mass might be higher than atmospheric air at standard pressure, thus it would weigh more. Usually that is how helium is transported. However, the effect would be rather small as the difference in mass between compressed helium and air is overwhelmed by the mass of the truck itself.

Answer 5

If the helium is compressed into cylinders, it would still be denser than air, so the answer would be NO to both questions.

But if the truck were sealed and the helium were at air pressure, then YES the truck would weigh less than if it were empty (i.e., a sealed truck full of air.)

It would get better gas mileage compared to a sealed truck full of air, because its mass would also be a little less.

Answer 6

The problem here is the volume of the truck and the rolling resistance of the truck. For the volume, you don't have enough to lift it much. For the rolling resistance, two parts: overcoming friction in the drive train and wheels, and overcoming air resistance. If you totally eliminated the part of the resistance due to tire deformation and friction from the weight of the truck, you would still need to overcome air resistance. In essence, great idea, won't do much. Even a nice laminar shape like a helium balloon requires significant energy to overcome air resistance (8 mpg for the blimp in the example).

Answer 7

Helium is lighter than air so theoretically it would be lighter and thus get better mpg.

Answer 8

No, because helium does have a weight. You can't use it to take weight away.

Answer 9

yes, but not much.