Game Inca
Introduction to Balloons
The word ‘Balloons’ conjures up images 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 available that you can get almost anything for any event you need.
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-stretch material but modern dayballoons have great elasticity because they are made of Latex and can be pumped up to create much larger sizes than earlier ones.
History of Balloons
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 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.
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 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 experiments with Hydrogen, but the more familiar 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 a hundred years later in nineteen thirty one.
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 accommodate the circumstance. Balloons are usually used for entertainment or displays.
Some balloons are purely for decorative reasons, others are ideal for specialist 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 used at Parties
The most familiar types of balloons are the ones we are used to seeing at parties, generally a child’s party. These are often bought in small packets and blown up by Mum’s and Dad’s 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 the face which expands as the balloon is inflated. Party balloons are usually made of natural Latex tapped from rubber trees. The rubber’s elasticity makes the dimensions variable. Balloons filled with air always hold their size and shape much longer than those filled with Helium.This is because Helium particles are so small they can escape between the Latex molecules, apparently!
Latex is the main material from which the majority of balloons are made.
Balloons made of Foil
The foil balloon or Mylar balloons first appeared during the late 1970s. They are generally 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 made an appearance at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer and they caused quite a stir. Foil balloons have attractive high gloss reflective finish and can be supplied with colour images, branding and styles to customise them. The most important attribute of metalized nylon for balloons is its ability to keep 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 improved buoyancy. They are ideal for unusual celebrations, in-store decorations, parties and for gifts. At my Mum’s 90′th birthday party a few weeks ago my son brought along a foil balloon with 90 printed on it to add to the party atmosphere.Mylar balloons or foil balloons can also be cut into interesting shapes and can be printed with branding to advertise a brand.
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 items make a very bright decorative show 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
Inflating a balloon and letting it go without tying it is as game most youngsters play at some time or another (and adults too)! The rude noise it makes always has everyone falling about laughing as it speeds about the room. This demonstration is teaching the children basically how a rocket works and they are called balloon rockets. As a kid I can remember being fascinated as I learned how they worked.
When the top 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 fundamentally 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 physics of the operation of a rocket. The balloon rocket is also frequently used to demonstrate Newton’s third law in physics.
Balloons Filled With Water
The water balloons are obviously filled with water and are intended for children to lob at each other as a game or practical joke with the aim of getting each other soaking wet. They are often smaller than normal sized balloons and made from thiner rubber so that they can be easily broken. Water balloons are often used in competitions or games.
Balloons Filled with Helium Gas
The reason Helium balloons float in to the sky 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 larger than the enclosed Helium atoms so the Helium gradually seeps out. 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.Quite a few companies supply wholesale balloons the majority of suppliers can be found on the internet.
Sculpting with 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 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 limited because of the shape of the balloons but with intelligent colour choice simple arches or walls can make an impressive design at your gathering. The balloons need to be precision filled with exactly the same amount of gas and to do this professional balloon party decorators use precision pumps to deliver the exact amount of Helium into the balloon. For non-floating balloons air inflators are used. Professional grade 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 generally include curled ribbon tied to a weight to keep the balloons on the table.
Balloon Modelling and Balloons in Art
Balloon modelling is a fascinating entertainment for children and adults alike and is not to be confused with balloon sculptures discussed above. The Latex used for balloon modelling 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 I have watched these artists at work I am always anxious that the balloons will pop when they are twisting and tying their handy work. These tiny modelling balloons are extremely tricky to inflate and often need a pump to get them started.
Mass Balloon Drops
I am sure you will have been to a party or dance where at the end of the event a load of balloons fall from the ceiling to create excitement and fun amongst the party guests. This is called 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 cost way of creating a festive atmosphere at the party climax, so everyone goes away 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 create your own balloon drop for your special event providing 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 friends to lend a hand with blowing up balloons as it can take a long time to do the number needed. Then load 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.
To make a big splash at a promotional launch advertising balloons provide an excellent branding opportunity.
Mass 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 conduct 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 condition 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 informed of balloon releases 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
Environmental Concerns and Balloon Safety
Latex is an organic product from rubber trees that are cultivated in certain areas of the tropics, so balloons are actually environmentally friendly being made of natural rubber Latex (NRL). These trees are not harvested to extract the NRL. The NRL is released by tapping mature plants and is an crucial sustainable crop providing work for many agricultural workers in some of the poorest areas of the world. Latex is a sustainable crop that is not harmful to the environment and the economy of the country in which the rubber trees grow.
The planting and maintenance of rubber tree plantations contributes 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 advantages of NRL cultivation is the appreciable contribution to the removal 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 tool 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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