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Introduction to Balloons

The word ‘Balloons’ conjures up pictures 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 on the market that you can get almost anything for any event you need.
When you think about it, a balloon is a very strange 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 pumped up to create much larger sizes than earlier ones.

Balloons Throughout History

The first known balloons were very simple 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 the first recorded history of balloon modelling.

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 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 experiments with Hydrogen, but the more common Latex balloon did not appear until 1847. 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 happen until 100 years later in 1931.

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 filled with air, Helium, hydrogen or water. Filling 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 many differing purposes, and decorated in numerous ways to accommodate the occasion.

Some balloons are purely for decoration, others are ideal for specific purposes because of their low density and relatively low cost. 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 familiar 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 Mum’s and Dad’s 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 cluster of balloons 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 many different 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 always 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. Get something unique made by ordering printed balloons for that party or event.

Mylar(Foil) Balloons

The foil balloon or Mylar balloons first appeared during the late 1970s. They are slightly more expensive 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. Mylar balloons have a nice shiny reflective surfaces and can be supplied with colour pictures, logos and patterns to customise them. The most important characteristic of metalized nylon for balloons is its propensity to prevent the Helium gas from escaping for several weeks because it is less porus. Foil balloons also have the advantage of being light weight, longer-lasting with better buoyancy. They are best for unusual celebrations, in-store displays, parties and for gifts. At my mother’s ninetieth birthday party in April our auntie brought along a foil balloon with 90 printed on it to add to the atmosphere of the party.Mylar balloons or foil balloons can also be manufactured into interesting shapes and can be printed with patterns to advertise a company.

Balloons Shaped as Animals

Balloons in animal shapes 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 balloons make a very bright decorative effect for that special event. Animal shaped balloons may be used as gifts or as a talking point at your special event.

Rockets from Balloons

Inflating a balloon and releasing it go before tying it is as game most youngsters play at some time or another (and adults too)! The rude noise it makes generally has all but the really stone faced falling about laughing as it shoots around the building in a random manner. This demonstration is teaching the children basically how a rocket works and they are called balloon rockets. As a youngster I can remember being intrigued as I learned how they worked.

When the top 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 fundamentally 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 learning aid to show the principles in science of the functioning 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 randomness of where they will go adds fun to the game.

Balloons Filled With Water

The water balloons are obviously filled with water and are intended for children to throw at each other as a game or practical joke with the aim of getting each other soaking wet. They are generally not as big as normal balloons and made from thin rubber so that they can be easily broken.

Balloons Filled with Helium Gas

The reason Helium balloons float upwards 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 usually only retain their buoyancy for a few days. This is because the Latex has pores that are larger than the enclosed Helium atoms so the Helium gradually leaks out. To increase the float time 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. All Helium balloons in races and releases are made of one hundred percent bio-degradable Latex rubber.

Balloon Sculptures
Balloon Sculptures are made from hundreds 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 attempted so they are possible. These sculptures are usually made and designed by professional party decorators as it is a very skilled job. Balloon sculptures are really quite restricted because of the round shape of the balloons but with clever colour choice simple arches or walls can make an impressive design at your party. The balloons need to be precision filled with exactly the same amount of gas and to do this professional balloon party decorators use electronic equipment to deliver the exact amount of Helium into the balloon. For non-floating balloons air inflators are used. Industrial grade balloons differ from most retail packet balloons as they are bigger in size, stronger and made from one hundred percent biodegradable Latex. Sometimes Helium balloons are used as table decorations for special events which may have three or five balloons with an arrangement of flowers. The decoration will usually 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 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 manipulated and tied without popping when making the balloon model. A Balloon modelling artist pulls and twists the inflated tubular balloons into shapes of animals, people or hats. When I have watched these artists at work I am always anxious that the balloons will burst when they are twisting and tying their creations. These tiny tubular balloons are extremely tricky to inflate and usually 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 night hundreds of balloons fall from the roof 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 creating 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 tool at the event.

It is easy enough to setup your own balloon drop for that special event as long as 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 friends to help with inflating balloons as it can take a long time to do the number needed. Then insert the inflated balloons into the net and make sure the opening is central so that the balloons will fall onto the target area below when they are released. You will also need to create a mechanism for releasing the balloons, and make sure you have thoroughly tested it so everything goes to plan at the big moment. Balloon drops may also be employed for many other celebrations, such as graduations and weddings.
By investing in balloon printing is a great way to create a themed decorative scheme on the day.

Releasing Balloons on Mass

Due to 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 that is available on their website at www.nabas.co.uk

If you are arranging a balloon release involving 5,000 balloons, it is a pre-requisite that you apply in writing for permission to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) at least 28 days before the event. 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 from rubber trees that are grown in certain regions of the tropics, so balloons are completely organic being manufactured from natural rubber Latex (NRL). These trees are not cut down to produce the NRL. The NRL is harvested by tapping mature trees and is an essential sustainable crop providing jobs for many agricultural labourers in some of the poorest regions 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 might easily become just another victim of the clearance of land for farming. One of the great by-products of NRL cultivation is the considerable 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 fun 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.

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