Introduction to Balloons
The word ‘Balloons’ conjures up thoughts in your mind of simple balloons you inflate for kid’s parties, or balloons that fly off on their own, or the special balloons for big events like the ones produced for the wedding of Charles and Diana? There are so many different types of balloons on the market that you can get almost anything for any event you need.
When you think about it, a balloon is quite an odd item. It is something that expands when filled with air or some other type of gas, such as Helium or hydrogen and is very fragile so that it can easily pop. The very early balloons would have been made with non-elastic material but modern dayballoons have great elasticity because they are made of Latex and can be filled up to create much larger sizes than earlier ones.
Balloons Throughout History
The first known balloons were very primitive in that they were made out of the bowels of cats. The Aztec Indians in Central and Southern America carefully cleaned out the cat gut, turned it inside out and stitched it with special vegetable thread that stuck to itself when dried in the sun creating an almost airtight seal. The balloons were shaped into model animals and then filled with air to be burnt on the top of the Aztec pyramid as an offering to the sun god. This was probably the first example of balloon modelling. Early balloons were made of animal guts and were turned into play things for the local community.
The first public demonstration of a balloon was at the Portuguese Court in Lisbon in 1809 by a Portuguese priest, Bartolomeu de Gusmao, and was most likely to be made from an animal bladder that stretched when filled with air. The modern rubber balloon was invented in eighteen twenty four by Michael Faraday the renowned English chemist and physicist who invented, amongst other many other things, the Faraday cage and he also made huge contributions to the fields electromagnetism and electrochemistry. The balloons Faraday used were filled with hydrogen for his science experiments with Hydrogen, but the more everyday Latex balloon did not appear until eighteen forty seven. Although the Latex balloon was manufactured in London in the mid 1800′s and early rubber balloons were sold in America in parks and circuses for a penny each; the mass production of them did not occur until 100 years later in nineteen thirty one.
The balloon industry became more advanced as they developed in line with technology. Now balloons are made from rubber Latex, polychloroprene or nylon and may be filled with air, Helium, hydrogen or water. Inflating the balloon with air can be done with the mouth, a manual hand pump, electric inflator, foot pump or with compressed gas. Balloons are used for various differing purposes, and decorated in numerous ways to suit the circumstance. Balloons are usually used for entertainment or displays.
Some balloons are purely for decoration, others are ideal for individual purposes because of their low density and are relatively cheap to procure. The balloon’s properties have led to them being used in a wide range of other applications in the areas of meteorology, military defence, medical treatment, and transportation. There are many different types of balloons which can be categorised under different headings.
Different Balloon Types
Balloons used at Parties
The most widely recognised types of balloons are the ones we are used to seeing at parties, particularly a child’s party. These are often bought in small packets and blown up by mouth or with a pump to create a festive scene for children’s parties and other kinds of celebratory events. These days you often see a balloon cluster at the entrance to a house or hall to indicate where the party is being held, it has almost become a universal indicator of a party in progress! The balloons come in varying sizes and colours and can have printing on the face which expands as the balloon is inflated. Party balloons are usually made of natural Latex tapped from rubber trees. The rubber’s elasticity makes the size variable. Balloons filled with air usually hold their size and shape much longer than those filled with Helium.
There is a great range of colours for balloons and many different sizes due to the flexibility of the material from which they are made. You can order cartoon images on printed balloons that become larger than life once inflated.
Mylar(Foil) Balloons
The foil balloon or Mylar balloons first appeared during the late 1970s. They are generally more expensive than Latex balloons and are made of thin non-stretch metalized plastic film or Mylar. The first time I had ever seen them was when they were used at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana and they caused quite a stir. These balloons have lovely high gloss reflective texture and can be printed with colour pictures, branding and designs to customise them. The most crucial attribute of metalized nylon for balloons is its capability to prevent the Helium gas from leaking for several weeks because it is less permeable. Foil balloons also have the advantage of being light weight, longer-lasting with better buoyancy. They are best for special celebrations, in-store displays, parties and for gifts. At my Mum’s 90′th birthday party a few weeks ago my son’s girlfriend brought along a foil balloon with 90 printed on it to add to the festive occasion.
Balloons Shaped as Animals
Animal shaped balloons are ade from metalized nylon which can easily be cut into pieces so that when stuck together they make the three dimensional shapes of animals. Screen printing the appropriate design on the model, makes the chosen animal come realistically alive. Once inflated, these attractive pieces make a very bright decorative effect for that special event. Balloons in animal shapes may be used as gifts or as a talking point at your special event. Balloons in animal shapes can make a great birthday gift for a child as an extra indulgence.
Balloon Rockets
Blowing up a balloon and letting it go without tying it is as game most youngsters enjoy at some time or another (and adults too)! The rude noise it makes generally has most people falling about laughing as it speeds all over the place. This demonstration is teaching the children basically how a rocket works and they are called balloon rockets. As a child I can remember being intrigued as I learned how they worked.
When the mouth of the balloon is released, the elasticity of the balloon contracts so that the greater pressure of air inside is forced out causing the balloon to be propelled forward. This is effectively how a rocket works. The balloon can also be filled with different gases other than air, resulting inthe same effect. Balloon rockets are a widely used a teaching device to demonstrate the principles in physics of the operation of a rocket. The balloon rocket is also often used to demonstrate Newton’s third law in physics. Kids can have hours of fun playing with balloons as a balloon rocket. The unpredictability of where they will go adds excitement to the fun.
Water Balloons
The water balloons are obviously filled with water and are intended for kids to lob at each other as a game or practical joke with the aim of getting each other soaked. They are often smaller than regular balloons and made from thiner rubber so that they can be easily broken.
Helium Filled Balloons
The reason Helium balloons float in to the sky is because they are filled with Helium gas which is less dense than air. So for an event where balloons are set off into the atmosphere, they will all be Helium filled balloons. If the Helium balloons are rubber balloons they will only retain their buoyancy for a few days. This is because the Latex has pores that are bigger than the enclosed Helium atoms so the Helium gradually seeps out. To increase the life span of a Helium balloon the inside of the balloons can be coated with a special polymer solution which lessens the leakage of the Helium for a week or more. Having even just one foil Helium filled balloon at a small party can create a special effect to enhance the occasion.Helium is a gas which is lighter than air forcing Helium balloons skyward unless held onto.
Sculpting with Balloons
Balloon Sculptures are made from 100′s of balloons to create a solid structure such as a balloon arch, wall or statute. Other shapes are more difficult, but on occasion more ambitious sculptures have been created so they are possible. These works of art are usually made and designed by professional balloon modellers as it is a skilled job. Balloon sculptures are really quite constrained because of the round shape of the balloons but with clever colour choice simple arches or walls can make an impressive design at your gathering. The balloons need to be precision filled and to do this professional balloon party decorators use precision pumps to deliver the exact amount of Helium into the balloon. For non-floating balloons air inflators are used. Industrial quality balloons differ from most retail packet balloons as they are bigger in size, stronger and made from 100% biodegradable Latex. Sometimes Helium balloons are used as table decorations for special events which may have 3 or 5 balloons with an arrangement of flowers. The decoration will generally include curled ribbon tied to a weight to keep the balloons on the table.
Balloon Modelling and Balloons in Art
Balloon modelling is a fantastic entertainment for children and adults alike and is not to be confused with balloon sculptures discussed above. The Latex used for balloon modelling is made of extra-stretchy rubber so that it can be manipulated and tied without bursting when making the balloon model. A Balloon modelling artist twists and ties the inflated tubular balloons into shapes resembling animals, people or hats. When you watch a balloon modeller at work you half expect that the balloons will burst when they are twisting and tying their handy work. These tiny tubular balloons are extremely tricky to inflate and usually need a pump to get them started, until you have developed the lungs for it.
Dropping Lots of Balloons from a Net
Most people have seen a party or dance where at the end of the night hundreds of balloons are dropped from the ceiling to create excitement and fun amongst the audience. This is called a balloon drop and is often performed at events such as New Year’s Eve celebrations or at political rallies and conventions. It is a relatively low cost way of making a festive atmosphere at the party climax, so everyone goes away feeling they have had a really great evening. By printing messages or logos on the balloons they can also be an advertising item at the event.
It is possible to create your own balloon drop for your special event as long as you have a room with high enough ceilings. Firstly you will need to set up a large plastic bag or net overhead, which is suspended at the required height. Get your friends to help with inflating balloons as it can take a long time to do the number needed. Then pile the inflated balloons into the net and make sure the opening works so that the balloons will drop onto the target area below when they are let go. You will also need to create a mechanism for releasing the balloons. Balloon drops may also be used for many other celebrations, such as graduations and weddings.
Sometimes marketing departments do not take into account advertising balloons to convey their message to potential customers, but it is an excellent advertising medium.
Releasing Balloons on Mass
Because of concerns about the effect on the environment of a large amount of balloons being released, the NABAS – The Balloon Association have produced a code of conduct which can be found on their website at www.nabas.co.uk
If you are planning a balloon race of more than 5,000 balloons, it is a necessity that you apply in writing for permission to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) at least 28 days in advance. The CAA also like to be informed of balloon releases involving less than 5,000. An application form can be acquired by calling either the NABAS office on 01989 762 204 or the Airspace Utilisation Section of the CAA on 020 7453 6599
Balloon Safety and The Environment
Latex is an organic product obtained from rubber trees that are cultivated in certain areas of the tropics, so balloons are actually environmentally friendly being manufactured from natural rubber Latex (NRL). These trees are not cleared to produce the NRL. The NRL is released by tapping older trees and is an crucial sustainable crop providing employment for many agricultural workers in some of the poorest areas of the world.
The planting and maintenance of rubber tree plantations helps towards the prevention of tropical rainforest deforestation. Without the cultivation and the consumption of Latex products the plantations might easily become yet another victim of the clearance of land for farming. One of the great by-products of NRL cultivation is the appreciable contribution to the removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere that is produced by industrialised nations and is a major source of global warming.
Printed Latex balloons are an absolutely fantastic, low-cost and environmentally friendly way of advertising your promotion or event.
Conclusion
The toy balloon has been a source of delight and excitement for many years at celebratory events such as parties, product launches and conferences throughout the world. They have been an educational tool as well as providing hours of entertainment and play for children and adults alike. Non toy balloons are used for experiments in science, as an aid for heart repair in medicine and even as a form of travel as in the hydrogen air ship idea. Balloons are invaluable in helping us to learn about our world and some of the properties of physics.
A world without balloons would be a much poorer place and balloons will remain an active part of the world’s makeup for many years to come.