You know, I was just messing around the other day. Kids had a party, helium balloons everywhere. And it hit me – how much can one of these things actually lift? Sounds like a kid’s question, right? But I figured, heck, let’s find out. For real.
Okay, The Gear
So, what did I need? A balloon, obviously. Just a regular party one, nothing fancy. I still had one of those small helium tanks, the disposable kind. Good enough. Weights? I hunted around. Found a stash of small metal washers. Seemed like a plan. They’re all pretty much the same weight, good for adding a little at a time.
First Shot – Bit of a Mess
Alright, blew up a balloon. Looked good. Tugged on the string, wanting to fly. I tied one washer on. Still floated! Yes! Tried two. Still up. Then I got clever. Or so I thought. Tried tying a tiny plastic bag to the string. Idea was to drop washers into it. Bad idea. The bag itself weighed something. And getting washers in? Balloon bobbing all over. What a pain.
Yeah, that wasn’t working. Needed something simpler.
Getting Serious (Sort Of)
Scrapped the bag. Back to basics. Just tie washers to the string. One by one. Got out my wife’s kitchen scale. Weighed one washer. About 2 grams, give or take. Not super precise, but good enough for this. The exact grams didn’t matter as much as how many it could hold.
Inflated a new balloon. Tried to get it to a decent size. Not too big it’d pop, not too small. Then, the tying game began.
- One washer: Easy. Floated right up.
- Two washers: Still pulling. Good.
- Three washers: Yep, still airborne.
- Four washers: Hmm. This was the tipping point. It kinda just hovered. Didn’t sink, didn’t really pull up much either. Lazy.
- Five washers: Thump. Well, not a thump. More like a slow, sad descent. Down it went.
So, The Answer?
Looks like four of my washers. For that balloon. If each washer is roughly 2 grams, that’s, what, 8 grams? Eight! That’s basically nothing. Think a couple of paperclips, or a single sugar packet. Maybe two.
This isn’t lab-grade science, mind you. How much I inflated it, the helium quality in that cheap tank, even the air in my room – all that stuff plays a tiny part. And my “standard” balloon? Who knows if it’s the same as yours. I used a normal 11-inch latex one, the kind you see everywhere.
Did it again. Couple more balloons from the same bag. Blew ’em up roughly the same. Pretty much the same result. Four washers and it was struggling. The fifth was the killer every time. Sometimes, even the fourth made it just hang there, undecided.
My Two Cents on This Balloon Business
So, yeah. Fun little experiment. Took about an hour. Better than just Googling it, right? Actually seeing it. One little party balloon? Not lifting your shopping bags, mate. Not a chance. It’s wild how many you’d need for anything actually heavy. But if you want to float a birthday card, or a really light party favor? Sure. It’ll do that. Just basic physics, really. Buoyancy. But still cool to play with. Don’t expect miracles from a single balloon, that’s the takeaway.