Introduction to Balloons
The word ‘Balloons’ conjures up thoughts in your mind of simple balloons you inflate for children’s parties, or balloons that fly off on their own, or the special balloons for key events like the ones produced for the wedding of Charles and Diana? There are so many different types of balloons available that you can get almost anything for any event you want.
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 burst. 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.
History of Balloons
The earliest 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 sewed 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 is without doubt the earliest use of balloon modelling.
The first public exhibition of a balloon was at the Portuguese Court in Lisbon in seventeen hundred and nine by a Portuguese priest, Bartolomeu de Gusmao, and was probably likely to be made from an animal bladder that stretched when filled with air. The modern rubber balloon was invented in 1824 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 common 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 appear until a hundred years later in nineteen thirty one.
The world of balloons became more advanced as they developed in line with technology. Now balloons are made from rubber Latex, polychloroprene or nylon and may be inflated 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 accommodate the circumstance. Balloons are usually used for entertainment or displays.
Some balloons are purely for decorative reasons, others are ideal for specialist 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
Good Old Party Balloons
The most popular types of balloons are the ones we are used to seeing at parties, generally a child’s party. These are usually bought in small packets and blown up by volunteers 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 almost always made of natural Latex tapped from rubber trees. The rubber’s elasticity makes the volume 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 use cartoon images 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 costly than Latex balloons and are made of thin non-stretch metalized plastic film or Mylar. The first time I remember them being used a major event was when they were used at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer and they caused quite a stir. Foil balloons have a nice high gloss reflective finish and can be supplied with colour images, branding and styles to customise them. The most crucial property of metalized nylon for balloons is its ability to keep the Helium gas from escaping for several weeks because it is less permeable. Foil balloons also have the advantage of being light weight, longer-lasting with increased buoyancy. They are perfect for unusual celebrations, in-store displays, parties and for gifts. At our granny’s 90′th birthday party in April one of the members of the family brought along a foil balloon with 90 printed on it to add to the atmosphere of the party.
Animal-Shaped Balloons
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 spectacular items make a very bright decorative effect for that special event. Balloons shaped like animals may be used as gifts or as a talking point at your special event.
Rocket Balloons
Blowing up a balloon and releasing it go before tying it is as game most children 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 game is teaching the children basically how a rocket works and they are called balloon rockets. As a youngster I can remember being enthralled as I learned how they worked.
When the mouth of the balloon is released, the elasticity of the balloon contracts so that the higher pressure of air inside is forced out causing the balloon to be propelled forward. This is fundamentally how a rocket works. The balloon can also be filled with different gases other than air, providing the same effect. Balloon rockets are a widely used a learning aid to demonstrate the principles in physics of the functioning of a rocket. The balloon rocket is also frequently used to demonstrate Newton’s third law in physics. Children can have hours of fun playing with balloons as a balloon rocket. The randomness of where they will go adds much laughter to the activity.
Balloons and Water
The water balloons are obviously filled with water and are intended for children to chuck at each other as a game or practical joke with the aim of getting each other soaking wet. They are normally not as big as normal sized balloons and made from weaker rubber so that they can be easily broken. Water balloons are often used in competitions or games.
Helium Balloons
The reason Helium balloons float 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 air, they will all be Helium filled balloons. If the Helium balloons are rubber balloons they usually only retain their buoyancy for a few days. This is because the Latex has tiny holes that are bigger than the enclosed Helium atoms so the Helium gradually leaks out. To increase the buoyancy period of a Helium balloon the inside of the balloons can be coated with a special polymer solution which reduces 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.Balloon releases are green events, Helium balloons at races and releases are made of one hundred percent bio-degradable Latex rubber.
Balloon Sculpting
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 a bit more challenging, but on occasion more ambitious sculptures have been built so they are possible. These works of art are usually made and designed by professional balloon modellers as it is a very skilled job. Balloon sculptures are really quite limited because of the shape of the balloons but with clever colour choice simple arches or walls can make an impressive design at your special event. The balloons need to be precision filled with exactly the same amount of gas 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 larger in size, stronger and made from 100% biodegradable Latex. Sometimes Helium balloons are used as table decorations for grand dinner parties which may have three or 5 balloons with an arrangement of flowers. The decoration will normally include curled ribbon with an added weight to keep the balloons on the table.
Balloon Art and Modelling
Balloon modelling is a fascinating entertainment for children and adults alike and should be confused with balloon sculptures discussed previously. The Latex employed by balloon modellers is made of extra-stretchy rubber so that it can be twisted and shaped and tied without bursting when making the balloon model. A Balloon modelling artist twists and ties the inflated modelling balloons into shapes of animals, people or hats. When you watch a balloon modeller at work you half expect that the balloons will pop when they are twisting and tying their handy work. These tiny tubular balloons are extremely tricky to inflate and often need a pump to get them started.
Mass Balloon Drops
I am sure you will have been to a party or dance where at the end of the event a load of balloons are dropped from the ceiling to create excitement and fun amongst the audience. This is known as 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 budget way of making a festive atmosphere at the party climax, so everyone goes away feeling they have had a really good time. By printing messages or logos on the balloons they can also be an advertising tool at the event.
It is possible to create your own balloon drop for that special event providing you have a room with high enough ceilings. To begin with you will need to set up a large plastic bag or net overhead, which is suspended at the required height. Get your other organisers to lend a hand 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 fall onto the target area below when they are let go. You will also need to devise a mechanism for releasing the balloons. Balloon drops may also be used for many other celebrations, such as graduations and weddings.
Balloon releases are a great way to release advertising balloons when they launch an event in the open air.
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 in excess of 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 notified about balloon races of less than 5,000. An application form can be obtained 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 a natural product obtained from rubber trees that are grown in certain areas of the tropics, so balloons are actually organic being manufactured from natural rubber Latex (NRL). These trees are not cleared to produce the NRL. The NRL is harvested by tapping mature plants and is an indespensible sustainable crop providing work for many agricultural workers in some of the poorest areas of the world. Latex is a sustainable crop that is good for the environment and the economy of the country in which the rubber trees are grown.
The planting and maintenance of rubber tree plantations contributes towards the prevention of tropical rainforest deforestation. Without the cultivation and the consumption of Latex products the plantations may very well become yet another object of the clearance of land for construction. One of the great advantages of NRL cultivation is the noticeable contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere that is produced by industrialised nations and is a major source of global warming.
Conclusion
The toy balloon has been a source of pleasure and excitement for many years at celebratory events such as parties, product launches and conferences throughout the world. They have been an educational resource 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.
Newport Beach Plastic Surgeon