Where do helium filled balloons go when you let them go?

Question

Always was curious

Answer 1

Firstly, free hydrogen gas and helium gas eventually escape from the earth's gravitational field and head off into outer space.

With helium balloons, you may have noticed that if you leave them in a room for about a week, they start off clinging to the ceiling, and by the end of the week, the balloons are on the floor.

This is because the helium atoms escape through the balloon skin/surface. They are literally one atom in diameter.

Release a helium balloon (under 10% of the air/gas is helium as a rule) into the outside air and it will move upwards (and drift with the wind).

Because the inflated balloon starts off far less dense than air, it is pushed up by atmospheric pressure (yes - air pushes in all directions, including up).

At higher altitudes, the balloon expands as the pressure inside the balloon becomess greater and greater than the air pressure outside.

Eventually something gives - usually the balloon skin - the balloon explodes and the helium that has not yet escaped, plus the remaining air, zoom out into the thinned atmosphere.

What happens to the balloon? The helium heads into outer space, the other air gases in the balloon join the upper atmosphere, and the balloon skin itself - who knows - bang! it disintegrates, or it pops out of the side and sinks back to earth eventually.

Answer 2

An interesting question. It may depend on how full the balloon is with helium. The helium (which is much lighter than air at any given pressure) stretches the balloon and excludes enough (heavy) air to float upwards (like an air bubble from the bottom of the sea). As the balloon (air bubble) rises it expands. This stretches the rubber balloon even more displacing even more (less heavy) air with increased elevation. If the balloon does not become over stretched popping it, it will reach an elevation where the weight of the rubber plus helium exactly equals the weight of the air excluded by the balloon. The balloon will float there (partially submerged in the atmosphere) and will flow with the wind. helium can leak through the molecular chain pores of the rubber balloon even easier than hydrogen (because helium has more positively charged protons in its nuclei to 'suck in' its electrons closer than hydrogen making helium seem smaller. As the balloon loses helium, it will begin to drop down into denser air where it finds more support. It will eventually land kind of wrinkled if not scooped up by an airplane intake before that happens.

Answer 3

They go up for a while, and downwind, then at higher altitude the air pressure on the outside of the balloon becomes less, so the difference between the pressure inside and outside can cause the balloon to break, then it comes back down.
In some cases, depending on how strong the balloon is and how much gas is in it, it is possible that the balloon might not burst, but will float until slow leakage causes it to come back down. In any case, the balloon eventually comes back down, they don't rise forever. Where they come down depends on where the wind blew it.

Answer 4

In perfectly still weather, helium filled balloons will rise until the increased atmospheric pressure causes them to explode. Or is it implode? Anyway, the gases than dissipate and the rubber/plastic/Mylar balloon falls back to earth. Because of the more turbulent winds in the upper atmosphere, the balloon can come down many miles from where it is released. I live in the coastal range of central California and I often find balloons in my fields and trees. Some have notes tied to them giving information on where and when they were released. I have found balloons from as far away as 100 miles.

Answer 5

Where Does Helium Go

Answer 6

They fall back down to the ground somewhere down wind. The fallen, popped balloons become trash, litter and a hazard to animals. Many end up in the ocean where for example sunfish (Mola Mola) and other marine animals often mistake them for jellyfish and eat them. They can be quite hazardous in this way, and balloons should not be released.

Answer 7

they go up and drift away with the wind, as they reach higher altitudes and lower atmospheric pressure they inflate, this process continues until the inflation causes them to explode, or they reach an equilibrium with the outside earth, when the weight of the balloon cover + weight of Helium divided by the volume of the balloon, is equal to the weight of air outside with the same volume of the balloon

Answer 8

They go straight up into the air, eventually the air becomes thin enough that the balloon will eventually pop, just like weaher balloons.

Answer 9

They follow the air current and then when they get high enough the helium compresses causing it to leak out and allowing the carcass to fall to earth....

Answer 10

Up, until the density of the air surrounding it is so low, that the ballon expands enough to go pop!

Then it goes down