Introduction to Balloons

The word ‘Balloons’ conjures up images in your mind of simple balloons you inflate 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 available that you can get almost anything for any event you want. Balloons are a bright, bouncy item that can be used for many 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 pop. The very early 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.

Balloon History

The first 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 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 the first recorded history of balloon modelling. Early balloons were made of animal guts and were turned into play things for the local children.

The first public exhibition of a balloon was at the Portuguese Court in Lisbon in seventeen hundred and nine 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 familiar Latex balloon did not appear until eighteen forty seven. 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 appear 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 circumstance.

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 Types of Balloons

Balloons used at Parties

The most common 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 mouth 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 varying sizes and colours and can have printing on the face which expands as the balloon is inflated. Party balloons are almost always made of natural Latex tapped from rubber trees. The rubber’s elasticity makes the volume variable. Balloons filled with air always 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. Mainly balloons are only filled with air or Helium gas. Other gases are too dangerous to use.

Mylar(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 remember them being used a major event was when they were used at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer and they caused quite a stir. These balloons have lovely glossy reflective texture and can be supplied with colour images, logos and patterns to customise them. The most useful attribute of metalized nylon for balloons is its propensity to prevent the Helium gas from escaping for several weeks because it is less permeable. Foil balloons also have the advantage of being light weight, longer-lasting with increased buoyancy. They are perfect for unusual celebrations, in-store displays, parties and for gifts. At my mother’s 90′th birthday party last month my son’s financee 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 cut into star shapes and can be printed with designs to advertise a product launch.

Balloons Shaped as Animals

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 pretty pieces make a very bright decorative impact for that special event. Balloons shaped like animals may be used as gifts or as a talking point at your special event. Balloons in animal shapes can make a great birthday gift for a child as an extra treat.

Balloon Rockets

Inflating 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 usually has everyone falling about laughing as it speeds around the room. 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 why it did that.

When the top of the balloon is let-go, the balloon contracts so that the greater pressure of air inside is forced out causing the balloon to be propelled forward. This is in effect how a rocket works. The balloon can also be filled with different gases other than air, with similar 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 lob at each other as a game or practical joke with the aim of getting each other soaked. They are usually smaller than normal sized balloons and made from weaker rubber so that they can be easily broken.

Balloons Filled with Helium Gas

The reason Helium balloons float 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 usually 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 escapes. To increase the life span 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. Having even just one foil Helium filled balloon at a small party can create a special effect to enhance the occasion.Several providers exist in the UK for wholesale balloons use a search engine to find the supplier nearest to you.

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 more difficult, but on occasion more ambitious sculptures have been attempted 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 round shape of the balloons but with clever 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 sculptors 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 special events which may have three or five balloons with an arrangement of flowers. The decoration will usually include curled ribbon with an added weight to stop the balloons from floating away.

Balloon Art and Modelling

Balloon modelling is a fascinating entertainment for children and adults alike and is not to 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 twists and ties the inflated modelling balloons into shapes resembling animals, people or hats. When you watch a balloon modeller at work you half expect that the balloons will pop when they are twisting and tying their handy work. These tiny modelling balloons are extremely difficult 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 ceiling to create excitement and fun amongst the party guests. This is known as 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 home feeling they have had a really good time. By printing messages or logos on the balloons they can also be an advertising item at the event.

It is possible to setup your own balloon drop for that special event as long as you have a room with high enough ceilings. Firstly you will need to set up a large plastic bag or net overhead, which is suspended at the required height. Get your other organisers to help with inflating balloons as it can take a long time to do the number needed. Then pile the inflated balloons into the container and make sure the opening is central so that the balloons will fall onto the target area below when they are released. You will also need to devise a mechanism for releasing the balloons. Balloon drops may also be employed for many other celebrations, including graduations and weddings.
It’s a great way to advertise if advertising balloons are inflated with Helium so that they will float into the sky to make the greatest impact on the public.

Mass Balloon Releases

Due to 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 practise which can be found on their website at www.nabas.co.uk

If you are planning a balloon race 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 involving less than 5,000. An application form can be obtained by calling either the NABAS office on 01989 762 204 or the Airspace Utilisation Section of the CAA on 020 7453 6599

Balloon Safety and The Environment

Latex is a natural product obtained from rubber trees that are grown in certain areas of the tropics, so balloons are actually organic being manufactured from natural rubber Latex (NRL). These trees are not felled to produce the NRL. The NRL is harvested by tapping mature trees and is an crucial sustainable crop providing jobs for many agricultural workers in some of the poorest areas of the world.

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 yet another casualty of the clearance of land for arable use. One of the great benefits of NRL cultivation is the considerable contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere that is produced by industrialised nations and is a major source of global warming.

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 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.