Introduction to Balloons

The word ‘Balloons’ conjures up ideas in your mind of simple balloons you blow up for kid’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 on the market 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-elastic 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 create 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 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 familiar Latex balloon did not appear until eighteen forty seven. 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 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 many differing purposes, and decorated in numerous ways to fit the occasion.

Some balloons are purely for decoration, others are ideal for individual 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

Balloons used at Parties

The most popular 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 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 the face 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 volume variable. Balloons filled with air usually hold their size and shape much longer than those filled with Helium.

Printed balloons showing a company logo or product name 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 expensive 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. Mylar balloons have beautiful high gloss reflective surfaces and can be printed with colour pictures, logos and styles to customise them. The most important property of metalized nylon for balloons is its ability 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 increased buoyancy. They are best for special celebrations, in-store decorations, parties and for gifts. At our granny’s 90′th birthday party last month my son brought along a foil balloon with 90 printed on it to add to the festive occasion.

Balloons Shaped as Animals

Animal shaped balloons 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 spectacular balloons 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.

Rockets from Balloons

Blowing up a balloon and releasing it go without tying it is as game most kids enjoy at some time or another (and adults too)! The rude noise it makes generally has everyone falling about laughing as it speeds about the building in a random manner. This game is teaching the children basically how a rocket works and they are called balloon rockets. As a child I can remember being intrigued as I learned how they worked.

When the mouth 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 effectively 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 teaching device to reveal the principles in science of the operation of a rocket. The balloon rocket is also regularly used to demonstrate Newton’s third law in physics.

Balloons and Water

The water balloons are obviously filled with water and are intended for youngsters to throw at each other as a game or practical joke with the aim of getting each other soaking wet. They are usually smaller than normal sized balloons and made from thin rubber so that they can be easily broken. Water balloons are often used in competitions or games.

Helium Filled Balloons

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 air, 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 bigger than the enclosed Helium atoms so the Helium gradually seeps 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. In these environmentally conscious times Helium balloons at races and releases are made of 100% bio-degradable Latex rubber.

Sculptures from 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 constructed 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 constrained because of the shape of the balloons but with intelligent colour choice simple arches or walls can make an impressive design at your party. The balloons need to be precision filled 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. 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 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 stop the balloons from floating away.

Balloon Modelling and Balloons in Art

Balloon modelling is a popular 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 bursting when making the balloon model. A Balloon modelling artist twists and ties the inflated tubular 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 hard to inflate and usually need a pump to get them started, until you have developed the lungs for it.

Dropping Lots of Balloons from a Net

I am sure you will have been to a party or dance where at the end of the event lots of balloons fall from the roof 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 home 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 easy enough to create 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 assistants to lend a hand with blowing up 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 let go. You will also need to develop 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 Can also be used for many other celebrations, including graduations and weddings.
By investing in balloon printing is a great way to create a themed decorative scheme on the day.

Balloon Releases

Because of concerns about the bearing on the environment of a large number 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 arranging a balloon release involving 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 releases involving 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

Balloons, the Environment and Balloon Safety

Latex is an organic product obtained from rubber trees that are cultivated in certain regions of the tropics, so balloons are completely organic being manufactured from natural rubber Latex (NRL). These trees are not felled to extract the NRL. The NRL is released by tapping mature plants and is an essential sustainable crop providing jobs for many agricultural workers in some of the poorest regions of the world. Latex is a sustainable harvest that is not harmful to the environment and the economy of the country in which the rubber trees are grown.

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 sufferer of the clearance of land for arable use. One of the great by-products 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 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 entertainment 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.