Introduction to Balloons

The word ‘Balloons’ conjures up pictures 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 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 first balloons would have been made with non-flexible material but modern balloons have great elasticity because they are made of Latex and can be pumped up to create much larger sizes than earlier ones. Balloons come in many different sizes and colours and can brighten up any event and provide a festive atmosphere.

History of Balloons

The initial 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 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 is without doubt the earliest use of balloon modelling.

The first public showing of a balloon was at the Portuguese Court in Lisbon in 1809 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 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 common Latex balloon did not appear until 1847. Although the Latex balloon was manufactured in London in the mid eighteen hundreds 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 a hundred 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 suit the event. Balloons are usually used for entertainment or displays.

Some balloons are purely for decoration, others are ideal for specific 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.

What are all the types of Balloons Available?

Balloons used at Parties

The most familiar types of balloons are the ones we are used to seeing at parties, generally a child’s party. These are frequently 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 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 sometimes which expands as the balloon is blown up. Party balloons are usually made of natural Latex tapped from rubber trees. The rubber’s elasticity makes the dimensions variable. Balloons filled with air usually hold their size and shape much longer than those filled with Helium.

Children especially have hours of fun punching balloons after the party, keep-it-up being one of my favourite ways to entertain my children with a balloon.

Balloons made of Foil

The foil balloon or Mylar balloons first appeared during the late 1970s. They are much more costly 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 beautiful glossy reflective texture and can be finished with colour pictures, branding and patterns to customise them. The most crucial aspect of metalized nylon for balloons is its capability to retain the Helium gas from leaking for several weeks because it is less permeable. Foil balloons also have the benefit of being light weight, longer-lasting with better buoyancy. They are best for extraordinary celebrations, in-store displays, parties and for gifts. At our gran’s ninetieth birthday party last year my son brought along a foil balloon with 90 printed on it to add to the party atmosphere.

Balloons in Animal Shapes

Balloons in animal shapes are ade from metalized nylon which can easily be cut into pieces so that when glued 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 pretty items make a very bright decorative show for that special event. Balloons shaped like animals may be used as gifts or as a talking point at your special event.

Balloon Rockets

Blowing up a balloon and releasing it go without tying it is as game most children enjoy at some time or another (and adults too)! The rude noise it makes generally has everyone falling about laughing as it speeds all over the place. This activity is an experiment in how a rocket works and they are called balloon rockets. As a kid I can remember being fascinated as I learned why it did that.

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 in effect how a rocket works. The balloon can also be inflated with different gases other than air, providing the same effect. Balloon rockets are a widely used a teaching device to show the principles in laws of nature of the operation of a rocket. The balloon rocket is also regularly used to demonstrate Newton’s third law in physics.

Water Balloons

The water balloons are obviously filled with water and are intended for youngsters to lob at each other as a game or practical joke with the aim of getting each other soaking wet. They are normally smaller than regular balloons and made from weaker rubber so that they can be easily broken.

Balloons Filled with Helium Gas

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 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 tiny holes that are larger than the enclosed Helium atoms so the Helium gradually leaks out. To increase the flight 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. Having even just one foil Helium filled balloon at a small party can create a special effect to enhance the occasion.The supplier who provides Helium balloons will sometimes be able to sell balloon gas cylinders with any Helium balloons sold.

Sculpting with Balloons
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 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 feature at your party. The balloons need to be precision filled and to do this professional balloon sculptors use precision pumps to deliver the exact amount of Helium into the balloon. For non-floating balloons air inflators are used. Professional quality balloons differ from most retail packet balloons as they are larger in size, stronger and made from one hundred percent biodegradable Latex. Sometimes Helium balloons are used as table decorations for grand dinner parties which may have three or five balloons with an arrangement of flowers. The decoration will normally include curled ribbon with an added weight to keep the balloons on the table.

Modelling and Art with Balloons

Balloon modelling is a popular 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 popping when making the balloon model. A Balloon modelling artist pulls and twists 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 creations. These tiny tubular balloons are extremely hard to inflate and usually need a pump to get them started, until you have developed the lungs for it.

Balloon Drops

Most people have seen a party or dance where at the end of the evening lots of balloons are dropped from the roof to create excitement and fun amongst the audience. This is a balloon drop and is often performed at parties 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 great evening. By printing messages or logos on the balloons they can also be an advertising item at the event.

It is possible to setup your own balloon drop for your 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, to hold the balloons. Get your friends to lend a hand with blowing up balloons as it can take quite a while to do the number needed. Then load the inflated balloons into the container and make sure the opening works so that the balloons will drop onto the target area below when they are released. You will also need to devise 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, including graduations and weddings.
Sometimes marketing departments forget advertising balloons as a means to convey their message to potential customers, but it is an excellent advertising medium.

Mass Balloon Releases

Due to concerns about the impact on the environment of a large amount of balloons being released, the NABAS – The Balloon Association have produced a code of practise which can be found on their website at www.nabas.co.uk

If you are arranging a balloon race of more than 5,000 balloons, it is a requirement 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 races involving 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

Environmental Concerns and Balloon Safety

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 felled to extract the NRL. The NRL is harvested by tapping mature trees and is an essential sustainable crop providing employment for many agricultural labourers in some of the poorest regions of the world. Latex is a sustainable crop that is not harmful to the environment and the economy of the country in which the rubber trees grow.

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 may very well become just another target of the clearance of land for construction. One of the great by-products of NRL cultivation is the considerable contribution to the removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere that is produced by industrialised nations and is a major source of global warming. The tropical regions in which rubber trees grow are often in some of the poorest parts of the world, so an industry from such a sustainable source is a vital income for the population.

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 resource as well as providing hours of fun and interest 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.