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Introduction to Balloons
The word ‘Balloons' conjures up pictures in your mind of simple balloons you blow up for children'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 available 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 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. Balloons come in many different sizes and colours and can brighten up any event and promote a festive atmosphere.
Balloon History
The earliest known balloons were very primitive in that they were made out of the bowels of animals. 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 the first recorded history 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 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 everyday 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 appear until a hundred years later in 1931.
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 fit the occasion. Balloons are usually used for entertainment or displays.
Some balloons are purely for decorative reasons, others are ideal for specialist functions 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.
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 usually 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 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 many different sizes and colours and can have printing on them 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. Printed balloons are an excellent way to advertise a company or fund raising event.
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 had ever seen them was when they were used at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer and they caused quite a stir. These balloons have beautiful shiny reflective texture and can be printed with colour images, logos and styles to customise them. The most important aspect of metalized nylon for balloons is its capacity to keep 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 greater buoyancy. They are ideal for special celebrations, in-store decorations, parties and for gifts. At my Mum's ninetieth birthday party a few months ago my son 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 made into interesting shapes and can be printed with logos to advertise an event.
Balloons in Animal Shapes
Balloons shaped like animals are ade from metalized nylon which can easily be cut into pieces so that when pressed 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 items make a very bright decorative impact for that special event. Balloons in animal shapes may be used as gifts or as a talking point at your special event.
Rocket Balloons
Inflating a balloon and letting it go before 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 zooms all over the room. This game is an experiment in how a rocket works and they are called balloon rockets. As a youngster I can remember being fascinated as I learned how they worked.
When the mouth of the balloon is let-go, 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 essentially how a rocket works. The balloon can also be filled with different gases other than air, producing the same results. Balloon rockets are a widely used a learning aid to demonstrate 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.
Balloons and Water
The water balloons are obviously filled with water and are intended for kids to throw at each other as a game or practical joke with the aim of getting each other wet. They are normally smaller than normal balloons and made from thin rubber so that they can be easily broken. Water balloons are often used in competitions or games.
Balloons Filled with Helium Gas
The reason Helium balloons float up is because they are filled with Helium gas which is lighter 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 leaks 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.Multiple companies provide wholesale balloons so look online to find the right company to suit your requirements.
Sculptures from 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 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 gathering. 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 one hundred percent biodegradable Latex. Sometimes Helium balloons are used as table decorations for weddings 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.
Modelling and Art with Balloons
Balloon modelling is a popular entertainment for children and adults alike and should be confused with balloon sculptures discussed above. The Latex employed by balloon modellers is made of extra-stretchy rubber so that it can be twisted and shaped and tied without popping when making the balloon model. A Balloon modelling artist pulls and twists 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 burst when they are twisting and tying their handy work. These tiny modelling balloons are extremely hard to inflate and usually need a pump to get them started.
Dropping Lots of Balloons from a Net
Most people have seen a party or dance where at the end of the evening lots of balloons are dropped from the ceiling to create excitement and fun amongst the party guests. 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.
It is possible to setup your own balloon drop for that special event providing you have a room with enough height. 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 help with inflating balloons as it can take quite a while to do the number needed. Then insert the inflated balloons into the container and make sure the opening is central so that the balloons will drop onto the target area below when they are released. You will also need to create a mechanism for releasing the balloons.
That special event can be made more exciting by using balloons arches especially when used to create a grand entrance.
Releasing Balloons on Mass
Because of concerns about the effect on the environment of a large number of balloons being released, the NABAS - The Balloon Association have produced a code of practise that is available 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 before the event. The CAA also like to be informed of balloon releases of 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
Environmental Concerns and Balloon Safety
Latex is a natural product from rubber trees that are cultivated in certain areas 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 plants and is an essential sustainable crop providing jobs for many agricultural workers in some of the poorest areas of the world. Latex is a sustainable harvest that is good for 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 victim of the clearance of land for construction. One of the great by-products of NRL cultivation is the significant 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.
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 tool 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.
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.
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