2006-09-30 08:08:30 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
Helium-filled balloons float in air in much the same way than an inner tube floats on water. That is, if you stand underwater at the bottom of a large swimming pool and you also happen to have an inflated inner tube down there at the bottom with you, when you release the inner tube, it will quickly rise to the surface of the pool. That's because both the inner tube and the volume of air it contains weigh far less than the volume of water the inflated inner tube displaces. Hence, the inner tube quickly rises to the surface of the pool and then floats on top of the water.
Likewise, when you stand outside in front of your home, you are actually standing at the bottom of a "pool" of air that is many (many!) miles deep. So, when a balloon is inflated with Helium, it displaces a volume of air equal to the balloon's inflated size. As long as the total weight of the inflated balloon plus the Helium it contains is lighter than the volume of the relatively "heavier" air that it displaces, the balloon will tend to float to the "surface" of the pool of air surrounding it in much the same way that an inner tube floats to the surface of a swimming pool. However, in this case, the top of the "pool" of air is actually the top of the Earth's atmosphere!
2006-09-30 08:17:02 · answer #1 · answered by brattybard 3 · 3⤊ 2⤋
Why Helium Balloons Float
2016-12-12 14:01:50 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The buoyant force is pushing the helium up because the helium is lighter than the mix of gasses we call air.
2006-09-30 08:17:49 · answer #3 · answered by Rabidactyl 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Amazingly, it is the heavier surrounding air that is actually
pushing up(squeezing) the balloon, causing it to rise.
That is why the balloon floats.
2006-09-30 08:45:29 · answer #4 · answered by michael c 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Helium is a lighter gas than oxygen is.
2006-09-30 08:15:26 · answer #5 · answered by : ) 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Because helium is lighter than air.
2006-09-30 08:11:40 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 1⤋
You kids need to do your own homework, it's bad enough that you have a computer that has all the information in the world, but then you can't even bother to Google something, for god's sake.
2006-10-01 08:00:46 · answer #7 · answered by nancy_from_neptune 1 · 4⤊ 3⤋
because it is lighter and cannot displace anything so it floats
2006-09-30 08:13:40 · answer #8 · answered by MSFinances 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
its lighter then air
2006-09-30 08:17:25 · answer #9 · answered by mateli6 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
all the above are correct answers.
2006-09-30 08:16:05 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋