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Introduction to Balloons
The word ‘Balloons’ conjures up ideas 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 need. Balloons are a bright, bouncy item that can be used for lots of different purposes, including kid’s or adult parties, product launches for advertising or promotional events.
When you think about it, a balloon is a very strange item. It is something that stretches 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 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 first known balloons were very simple 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 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. Early balloons were made of animal guts and were turned into play things for the local population.
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 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 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 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 fit the circumstance.
Some balloons are purely for decorative reasons, others are ideal for specific uses 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.
What are all the types of Balloons Available?
Good Old Party Balloons
The most common 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 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 varying sizes and colours and can have printing on them 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.This is because Helium particles are so small they can escape between the Latex molecules, apparently!
Using balloons as a way to create an atmosphere at a special event is a relatively recent idea.
Foil Balloons
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 Spencer and they caused quite a stir. Foil balloons have attractive shiny reflective texture and can be finished with colour images, branding and styles to customise them. The most useful attribute of metalized nylon for balloons is its capacity to retain 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 improved buoyancy. They are ideal for special celebrations, in-store decorations, parties and for gifts. At my mother’s ninetieth birthday celebration in April my daughter brought along a foil balloon with 90 printed on it to add to the occasion .Mylar balloons or foil balloons can also be created into interesting shapes and can be printed with branding to advertise an event.
Animal-Shaped Balloons
Balloons in animal shapes are ade from metalized nylon which can easily be cut into pieces so that when sewn 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 exceptional balloons 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.
Rockets from Balloons
Blowing up a balloon and releasing it go without tying it is as game most kids play at some time or another (and adults too)! The rude noise it makes usually has all but the really stone faced falling about laughing as it speeds all over the room. This game is an experiment in how a rocket works and they are called balloon rockets. As a child I can remember being enthralled as I learned why it did that.
When the top of the balloon is released, 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 inflated with different gases other than air, resulting inthe same effect. 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 children to chuck at each other as a game or practical joke with the aim of getting each other soaking wet. They are usually smaller than regular 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 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 air, they will all be Helium filled balloons. If the Helium balloons are rubber balloons they generally 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 escapes. 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.
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 a bit more challenging, but on occasion more ambitious sculptures have been built so they are possible. These sculptures are usually made and designed by professional party decorators as it is a skilled job. Balloon sculptures are really quite limited because of the round shape of the balloons but with intelligent 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 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 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 3 or 5 balloons with an arrangement of flowers. The decoration will usually include curled ribbon tied to a weight to stop the balloons from floating away.
Balloon Modelling and Balloons in Art
Balloon modelling is a popular entertainment for children and adults alike and is not to be confused with balloon sculptures discussed previously. 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 modelling balloons into shapes resembling animals, people or hats. When I have watched these artists at work I am always anxious that the balloons will pop when they are twisting and tying their creations. These tiny tubular balloons are extremely difficult to inflate and usually need a pump to get them started.
Mass Balloon Drops
Most people have seen a party or dance where at the end of the night a load of balloons are dropped from the ceiling to create excitement and fun amongst the audience. This is 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 generating a festive atmosphere at the party climax, so everyone goes away feeling they have had a really great evening.
It is possible to create your own balloon drop for that special event as long as you have a room with enough height. Firstly 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 other organisers to lend a hand with blowing up 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 is central 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 decorators often create several balloons arches creating a tunnel effect at the entrance to the venue.
Balloon Releases
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 conduct that is available on their website at www.nabas.co.uk
If you are preparing a balloon release 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 notified about balloon races 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 an organic product obtained from rubber trees that are grown in certain regions of the tropics, so balloons are actually organic being made of natural rubber Latex (NRL). These trees are not cleared to extract the NRL. The NRL is obtained by tapping older trees and is an essential sustainable crop providing jobs for many agricultural labourers in some of the poorest areas of the world.
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 just another victim of the clearance of land for arable use. 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 region.
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.
When you think about it balloons are a major part of modern day life, did you realise?
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