Hon-Machi Town

Introduction to Balloons

The word ‘Balloons’ conjures up thoughts 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 key 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 a very strange 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 pop. 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 filled up to create much larger sizes than earlier ones.

Balloons Throughout History

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 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. Early balloons were made of animal guts and were turned into play things for the local community.

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 most 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 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 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 appear until 100 years later in 1931.

The world of balloons 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. Balloons are usually used for entertainment or displays.

Some balloons are purely for decoration, others are ideal for specific functions 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.

Different Types of Balloons

Balloons for Parties

The most familiar types of balloons are the ones we are used to seeing at parties, particularly a child’s party. These are often 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 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 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 will hold their size and shape much longer than those filled with Helium.

Latex is the main material from which the majority of rubber balloons can be manufactured.

Balloons made of Foil

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 remember them being used a major event was when they were used at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana and they caused quite a stir. Foil balloons have a nice high gloss reflective texture and can be printed with colour pictures, branding and patterns to customise them. The most crucial characteristic of metalized nylon for balloons is its ability to prevent 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 gran’s 90′th birthday party last year someone brought along a foil balloon with 90 printed on it to add to the occasion .

Balloons Shaped as Animals

Balloons shaped like animals are ade from metalized nylon which can easily be cut into pieces so that when glued 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 items make a very bright decorative impact for that special event. Animal shaped balloons may be used as gifts or as a talking point at your special event.

Rockets from Balloons

Inflating a balloon and letting it go before tying it is as game most children play at some time or another (and adults too)! The rude noise it makes usually has everyone falling about laughing as it speeds about the room. This activity is an experiment in 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 mouth of the balloon is released, the elasticity of 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 learning aid to demonstrate 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. Children can have hours of fun playing with balloons as a balloon rocket. The randomness of where they will go adds excitement to the fun.

Balloons and Water

The water balloons are obviously filled with water and are intended for children to fling at each other as a game or practical joke with the aim of getting each other drenched. They are generally not as big as regular balloons and made from thiner rubber so that they can be easily broken.

Helium Balloons

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 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 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.There is an entire industry dedicated to the supply of wholesale balloons find the best deals by searching the net.

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 more difficult, but on occasion more ambitious sculptures have been built so they are possible. These sculptures are usually made and designed by professional balloon modellers as it is a skilled job. Balloon sculptures are really quite limited 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 bigger in size, stronger and made from 100% 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 tied to a weight to stop the balloons from floating away.

Modelling and Art with Balloons

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 pulls and twists the inflated modelling balloons into shapes of 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 creations. These tiny modelling balloons are extremely tricky to inflate and often need a pump to get them started.

Mass Balloon Drops

Most people have seen a party or dance where at the end of the event lots of balloons are dropped from the ceiling to create excitement and fun amongst the party guests. This is called 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 creating a festive atmosphere at the party climax, so everyone goes home feeling they have had a really good time.

It is easy enough 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. Get your friends to lend a hand with inflating balloons as it can take a long time to do the number needed. Then insert the inflated balloons into the net and make sure the opening works so that the balloons will drop onto the target area below when they are released. You will also need to develop a mechanism for releasing the balloons. Balloon drops may also be performed at many other celebrations, such as graduations and weddings.
Choosing quality balloon printing gives that extra something special on the day.

Balloon Releases

Due to concerns about the bearing on the environment of a large amount 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 arranging a balloon release in excess of 5,000 balloons, it is a pre-requisite that you apply in writing for permission to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) at least 28 days before the event. 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

Balloons, the Environment and Balloon Safety

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

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 might easily become just another target of the clearance of land for arable use. One of the great benefits of NRL cultivation is the significant 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 happiness 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 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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