i need to find out how air escapes from a balloon several days after being inflated
2007-06-20 07:27:16 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
Think of the balloon as a a net, and the air molecules as rubber balls inside of it. Most of the time, they bounce around the inside of the net and stay in, sometimes a molecule hits the hole in just the right way and escapes.
Since the pressure inside of the balloon is higher than outside of the balloon, this keeps happening until the pressure inside is the same as outside ... i.e. it keeps happening until the balloon is the size of a baby's fist or so.
The smaller the molecules, the quicker this process happens. Helium is smaller, and thus has a higher mean free velocity than either oxygen or nitrogen, so a helium balloon only lasts a day or two.
This is why mylar balloons are so popular. They can be filled with air or helium and stay inflated much longer, because instead of being like a net, mylar balloons are made of a layer of plastic with a thin coating of aluminum. The aluminum is very good at keeping the gas in the balloon and not letting it escape.
2007-06-20 07:39:44 · answer #1 · answered by mikewofsey 3 · 4⤊ 0⤋
If you could look at the balloon through a microscope, you would see that it has tiny holes, or pores. Over time, some of the air inside the balloon can slowly escape through these tiny holes. The air will continue escaping through the skin of the balloon until the air pressure is the same on the inside and outside.
2007-06-20 07:35:18 · answer #2 · answered by JOhn M 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The gas molecules in air are really really really tiny. The molecules of the rubber in the balloon are long chains that form a big mesh. A tiny gas molecule can slip between the gaps in that mesh. Although there are no big holes in the rubber, there are possible ways through the mesh, and gas molecules can do it. Imagine it like a piece of filter paper. The paper is a mesh of fibres that water molecules, being very small, can move between but, for example, sand grains can't. It's not easy and takes time, but gas molecules can pass through the rubber just like the water passes through the paper, which is why a balloon takes several days to deflate.
2007-06-20 11:30:39 · answer #3 · answered by Jason T 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think it depends on the guage of the piercing, I have an 18g in my lip and air doesn't escape from mine. I do have a harder time whistling though while I'm wearing it, but I don't know about playing instruments, but I can still blow up balloons fine!
2016-04-01 08:06:12 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yeah the air may just have cooled of which the balloon shrinks or it may have escaped, just like Alcatraz!
2007-06-20 09:39:27 · answer #5 · answered by Funk-Ski Biznez Man 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It may not of escaped but just cooled down. so the air/gas shrinks.
2007-06-20 07:46:56 · answer #6 · answered by JOHNNIE B 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Through degeneration of the rubber.
2007-06-20 07:53:53 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
that's a real good question sweety. really wish i could tell you the answer,but i really haven't got a clue on that one. you have well and truly stumped me.hope you manage to get the answer. xx take care
2007-06-20 07:44:03 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋