how far can a ball go if it is filled helium?

Question

if you kicked a ball filled with will it go farther than one with air

Answer 1

Ok, helium is not more dense than other gases in the atmosphere, its less dense, that is what makes it lighter. They tested this on a show called Mythbusters on the discovery channel. After testing the distance the ball travelled using a mechanical ball launcher to get more consistent results thant they did with an actual punter they took the data to a statistician. The results showed no significant difference in how far the air filled and helium filled footballs travelled. See the explanation and results at the following website:

http://kwc.org/mythbusters/2006/02/mythbusters_catching_a_bullet.html

This link also has the results of experiments they did to see if it is actually possible to catch a bullet in ones teeth (it's not, and no they did not have a human actually try to do it).

Answer 2

First, it depends on pressure. You can pressurize helium to where it is denser than air, so let's assume you pick a reasonably low pressure so that the ball is lighter.

If the ball is lighter, it might be more susceptible to air resistance. Try kicking a balloon. It's lighter than a ball. Does it go far? No. However, the mass of the ball is probably enough; the mass of the air or helium inside is neglegible by comparison. Equally, the weight of the ball itself will be much more than the effect of the helium inside. I would say it would go a little further, but not much - but that's not a calculation.

Answer 3

Yes, it will go farther because helium is more dense than oxygen and other substances in the air. But, the mass of the ball could possibly weigh it down so that it doesn't move at all. If you kicked a balloon filled with helium, it would rise until it popped because of the pressure or it would stay in one spot because it would be resting on less dense air and pushing against air that is more dense.

Answer 4

The downward force on the ball is the gravitational force minus the buoyant force of the air on the ball (which depends on the density of the ball). The time spent in the air depends only on the upward speed and the downward force, the distance traveled is the forward speed X time in the air. So the answer is for identical kicks it would go farther.
I just read that it was tried with a football, and the slowing from air resistance made it go a shorter distance.

Answer 5

It will only go as high until the density of air in the ball matches the density in the atmosphere.