Balloon attached to string
Density balls in a tank of water

 

Code Number: 2B40.70

Demo Title: Lifting Power of Balloons

Condition: Excellent

Principle: Buoyancy, Lifting Power of Various Gases

Area of Study: Fluids

Equipment: 

Balloons, Helium, Hydrogen, and Other Gases.

Procedure:

Blow up balloons to the same diameter using different gases.  Do not forget to add the mass of the string to your calculations.

Another example of this would be the two balls that have equal masses yet one floats and one does not due to different volumes.

References:

  • Jack Blumenthal, Rafaela Bradvica, and Katherine Karl, "Accurate Determination of the Volume of an Irregular Helium Balloon", TPT, Vol. 51, #2, Feb. 2013, p. 93.
  • M. J. Clouter, "Archimedes' Principle: A Classroom Demonstration with a Twist", TPT, Vol. 44, #1, Jan. 2006, p. 46.
  • Thomas J. Ritter Jr., "The Baker Street Irregulars Meet Archimedes", TPT, Vol. 43, #4, Apr. 2005, p. 226.
  • David Keeports, "How Does the Potential Energy of a Rising Helium-Filled Balloon Change?", TPT, Vol. 40, #3, Mar. 2002, p. 164.
  • Mark P. Silverman, "Flying High, Thinking Low? What Every Aeronaut Needs To Know", TPT, Vol. 36, #5, May 1998, p. 288.
  • Joseph Miano, "Archimedes' Principle and Smiley-Faced Balloons", TPT, Vol. 33, #3, Mar. 1995, p. 172.
  • Albert W. Burgstahler, Tom Wandless, and Clark E. Bricker, "The Relative Lifting Power of Hydrogen and Helium A Gas Buoyancy Demonstration Experiment", TPT, Vol. 25, #7, Oct. 1987, p. 434.
  • Clyde J. Smith, "Archimedes’ Principle Meets Charles’ Law", TPT, Vol. 17, #3, Mar. 1979, p. 187, also A Potpourri of Physics Teaching Ideas - Heat and Fluids.
  • Robert Ehrlich, "H.8. Hanging a Weight from a Helium-Filled Balloon", Turning the World Inside Out and 174 Other Simple Physics Demonstrations, p. 103 - 104.
  • Carl Ahlers, "3. Hot Hydrogen Applications", Expose Excite Ignite an Essential to Whizz-Bang Chemistry.
  • Herb Strongin, “Showing How Helium and Carbon Dioxide Balloons Behave Differently“, Science on a Shoestring, p. 130. 
  • Julius Sumner Miller, Q60 & A60, Millergrams I – Some Enchanting Questions for Enquiring Minds, p. 42 & 98.
  • Julius Sumner Miller, Q202 & A202, Millergrams II – Some More Enchanting Questions for Enquiring Minds, p. 59 & 109.