Is There A Membrane That Will Store Helium For A Long Time?

Question

Helium balloons tend to dissipate helium and the ballon eventually loses bouyancy.

Is there a fabric, material, membrane that will keep Helium inside the balloon for very very long times ( years ) ?

Answer 1

Only metals completely block helium diffusion (at room temperature anyway).

The silver balloons are pretty good because they use aluminized Mylar. The seams might leak a tiny amount, but I think the aluminum layer is a little too thin to be very effective.

I know that some types of aluminized Mylar used alum. that is about 5 nm thick. That is super thin. You can see though it with a strong light. If it were a little thicker it might hold the He for a long time.

Some researchers & myself once built an apparatus with a fiberglass tube. We evaporated metal (indium) onto the surface of the tube, then wet wrapped more fiberglass on top of the metal film. This tube was pressurized with pure He to 150 psia. Five years later the pressure was still the same to within +/- 3%, the measurement accuracy.

Answer 2

The foil ones hold the helium longer, but they have seems. I bet you could invent a seamless paper-thin aluminum balloon that would hold helium for years. You could test it out and see if it still makes your voice high!

Answer 3

They are few ,we had a helium maser for amplifying very low signals . the amplifier was up in the dish antenna and it was refrigerated with liquid helium and it would leak through almost anything. We must of replaced the plumbing several times.
good luck

Answer 4

No. because of the size of the helium molecules, it eventually leeches through the latex.

perhaps mylar, but years really means metal tanks

Answer 5

They have plastic balloons that last a very long time Havent you ever seen them? They usually are silver with "Congratulations" written on them.