Why doesn't gravity stop balloons?
by 
Curiouscat
ANSWERS: 7
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Gravity does pull down on balloons, but if you fill them up with helium then they rise because helium is lighter than our air so therefore the balloon rises
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Depends upon which gas you put in the balloon. Certain gases such as hydrogen and helium are among the lightest elements in the universe and can escape the force of gravity hence their popular usage for dirigibles and balloons. The Hindenburg ruled out the conventional use of hydrogen.
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mushroom The hydrogen really wasn't the issue - the Hindenburg was designed for helium, but the US embargo of Germany forced them to use hydrogen as an alternative.
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Helium is lighter than air and just as the heaviest things will tend to fall to the bottom, the lightest things will rise to the top. Helium weighs 0.1785 grams per liter. Nitrogen, which makes up 80% of the air we breathe, weighs 1.2506 grams per liter. Basically, if you were to fill a soda bottle with helium and another with air, the one filled with helium would weigh a gram less than the bottle with air. It doesn't sound like a lot, but that's usually why blimps and balloons are usually really big, the one-gram difference really adds up in large volumes. Helium balloons follow the same principle as you do when you float in the water; the law of buoyancy. If the water you displace weighs more than you do, you will float. Helium isn't the lightest element, hydrogen, weighing a mere 0.08988 grams per liter, is. Wondering why we don't use that instead of helium? Well, hydrogen balloons used to be really popular, but it is extremely flammable. The slightest spark will set off a huge explosion. The Hindenburg catastrophe was a direct result of that
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because most balloons are filled with helium, a gas lighter than oxygen, it floats. The atmosphere pushes lighter gases up such as hydrogen and helium. Gravity still stops the balloon which will pot because of the low pressure from going into outer space.
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It does stop some balloons. Balloons that are filled by mouth, or some other gas that is heavier than the air around it will not rise. Helium, on the other had is lighter than the air around it, and will rise.
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maybe it's afraid of balloons?
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cos me teef bites and licks nips !1
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