People always tell me that the balloons released will kill birds.
I know they will pop eventually and fall back down to earth, but how can it kill birds?
2007-02-18 17:06:51 · 7 answers · asked by LifeisGoood 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
Well first off if they did fall back to Earth that would be considered littering, but usually that's not what happens.
What happens is they usually don't fall back to earth, If there was nothing around they would but they usually pop and hit something, generally a tree. They usually just get stuck in the trees and the birds and other animals that live in trees can get tangled in them or their string and get stuck, or try to chew on them and choke.
Helium balloons are one of the top causes of choking in infants and young children, it is no different for animals.
Other animals suffer too though, just as a lot of cats like to chew on string and ribbon, they and other animals will chew on the ribbons on balloons which get entangled in their intestines.
2007-02-18 17:19:10 · answer #1 · answered by slawsayssss 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have no idea why they might kill birds.
However, they do pop. As they rise, the surrounding air pressure decreases, so the helium in the balloon expands. Eventually, the rubber can stretch no more, and the balloon pops, sending the balloon back to earth and the helium to the outer atmosphere.
Helium isn't toxic, but it can kill you. This is because it's an asphyxiant. If you breath enough at once, it displaces the oxygen in your lungs, preventing your blood from being able to absorb oxygen. Then you die.
However, for helium to kill you, you would have to be breathing VERY concentrated helium. Since it weighs less than air, any small amounts you inhale are quickly exhaled, since it rises to the top of your lungs first.
Basically, the only way it could kill birds is if they poked it, and a peice of rubber became caught in their throats or something. It would be practically impossible for the helium itself to kill a bird.
2007-02-18 17:11:50 · answer #2 · answered by jsprplc2006 4 · 5⤊ 0⤋
If you were to type in the appropriate key words in the Search Y! Answers box, you would find many answers to this same question. However, the common denominator is thus: As the balloon ascends, the atmospheric pressure drops, which causes the balloon to expand to a point approximately five miles high to burst into small shreds, which flutter back down to the ground and rot away at the same rate as an Oak leaf. The helium will continue to rise and escapes off into space
2016-05-24 06:23:22 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
A helium baloon will rise untill it reaches an altitude where the air density is equal to the weight of the balloon+gas. at that point it will float and move with the air currents and slowly decend as it loses gas. They can travel quite a long distance. The danger to birds is minimal while they are airborne. At some point in time they will decend and become polution on the ground or at sea. Birds will be attracted to the ribbons or strings attached. They use fibers of all sorts for nest building. There is a chance they will be entangled in the string or ribbon and some larger seabirds might actually swallow the entire deflated baloon and choke on it.
2007-02-18 17:24:55 · answer #4 · answered by ToolManJobber 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
the sudden blast of the gas can cause the birds heart to sieze or perhaps the birds would swallow the material of the balloon and die
2007-02-18 18:09:16 · answer #5 · answered by blitzkrieg_hatf6 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The helium is toxic?
2007-02-18 17:10:46 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
Don't believe it! They won't.
2007-02-18 22:47:58 · answer #7 · answered by CLICKHEREx 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋