"No helium needed to fill balloons for parties.....just vinegar and baking soda!"
This is a pin that if anyone took middle school science class, they shouldn't be pinning. Why? Because you can't just make up helium. Can you use baking soda and vinegar to fill balloons? Sure. But it's not going to float like helium will. You're better off just blowing them up with your own breath, unless you are planning on using it as a science experiment for kids. Which, come to find out, is what the image is actually depicting.
A quick search and I found the source of the image. Over at the blog Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas, she writes about a common trick of using vinegar and baking soda to fill a balloon, showing off the gas the chemical reaction produces. In fact, she has even added a disclaimer on the post explaining that this will not produce helium. Helium is a naturally occurring gas, you can't just make it. It's number 2 on the periodic table of elements, meaning it's lighter than air (which is primarily made up of heavier oxygen and nitrogen), which is why when you fill a balloon with helium, it floats instead of sinking like if it were filled with air. (The only reason an air balloon sinks in the first place is because you're loading it up with compressed molecules, making it heavier than the air around it.) The gas produced from baking soda and vinegar, however, is your run of the mill carbon dioxide. Since carbon dioxide is heavier than air, it won't float. In fact, technically it will be heavier than if you simply filled it normally with air.
So there you have it, this is a great experiment for the kids, but don't think this is going to magically replace helium in balloons.
I think that is cool
ReplyDeletelol no not cool at all
Deletethat so cool
Delete"Baking Soda and Vinegar INSTEAD of Helium to Inflate Balloons"
ReplyDeleteThe only reason a balloon filled with air sinks is not because of the compressed air, it's because of the weight of the balloon itself.
ReplyDeleteSo, when you inflate a balloon with your breath you don't expel CO2? Wow! You are special. Are you a tree?
DeleteYou only expel about 4% CO2, assuming you didn't hold your breath before expelling that is. Approximately 16% will still be O2 and the rest are Nitrogen(78%), water vapor, and other gasses(~2%). All of those gasses, if were to compressed into liquid(which is not possible but let's assume you can) and weighted on a balance, would only weigh less than 1 gram. A balloon itself has at least ~20g wouldn't you say? So he is right, most of the weight do come from the balloon.
DeleteOn the side note, this vinegar + baking soda method is utterly ridiculous. First of all, it won't be very efficient because the expansion of the balloon will take like possibly 5 minutes or more unless you put a lot of soda and vinegar and both at very high concentration. Secondly, the reaction produces carbon dioxide(100%), and CO2 is denser than Nitrogen(the most part of air), meaning the balloon will definitely not float. Thirdly, it's carbon dioxide! That's a bloody red flag because if somehow all the balloons were to explode(because some kids decided to poke them), it's going to flood the room with CO2. Humans can die if concentration of CO2 is beyond 10%. The balloon has 100%. You might as well use your car exhaust to pump those balloons, at least it won't be 100% CO2, though it will have Carbon monoxide.
I have a better solution though. U put aluminum foil inside a corrosive agent(hydrochloric acid preferably) and it will produce hydrogen, which is even lighter than helium. Though if it flew on a burning candle, that will be a problem. A very loud, very fiery problem.
love it
ReplyDeleteWhat was the point of this?Includes useless information,facts a 5th grader would know and I believe that this should be taken down.Also yes i am a kid nut im apparently smarter than this guy
ReplyDeleteBob, welcome to the internet, where nobody gives a shit about you.
DeleteThe point is that there ARE people who may think CO2 floats like Helium, because of the mentioned pinterest image, which was posted after a misunderstanding of a kids' experiment (or a troll preying on internet idiots). Congratulations for not being duped, and enjoy that this information is not new to you like it may be to some people.
Deletei mean but
ReplyDelete2 things:
ReplyDelete-Compressed air and air from lungs are the same density once they are inside the balloon. In both cases, the reason the balloon falls to the floor is due to the weight of the balloon itself.
-Helium is not the only gas that makes balloons float. I know you didn't claim that it is, but some of the wording sort of implied that.
Is there anything else that can be substituted for helium and make the balloon float?
ReplyDeleteHydrogen, but it's extremely flammable and not recommended . . . oh the humanity.
DeleteHydrogen
ReplyDeleteActually you can heat air which expands the molecules and making it less dense than 'normal' air. The trick would be to have the air hot enough to overcome the compression you put on it when inside a balloon. There really is no suitable substitute for helium for balloons. (Hydrogen is extremely flammable, so I'd stay away unless you want to see a Hindenburg type of balloon)
ReplyDeleteBut hydrogen makes balloons more fun
ReplyDeleteBut unlike Glen I can't recommend hydrogen highly enough makes balloons more fun... especially with a bit of flour
ReplyDeleteUnlike Glen I can't recommend hydrogen highly enough makes balloons so much more fun... especially with a bit of flour inside
ReplyDeleteIf you cool the water first , then add the kuh-kuh-ca-ku-cocaine... sorry wrong thread
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteso cool
ReplyDeleteIt's feel interesting but don't think this would worth.
ReplyDeletecustom logo
Informative post, thanks for share.
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