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Chapter 13: Problem 7

If you release a helium balloon, it soars upward and eventually pops. Explain this behavior.

Short Answer

Expert verified
A helium balloon soars upward and eventually pops due to the principles of buoyancy, lighter gaseous properties of helium, and expansion & rupture of the balloon at high altitudes. The buoyant force of the helium balloon is greater than its gravitational force, making it rise. As it rises, the atmospheric pressure decreases, causing the helium inside to expand. Eventually, the stress from the expanding helium exceeds the balloon material's strength, causing it to pop.

Step by step solution

01

Buoyancy and Archimedes' Principle

Buoyancy is the force exerted on an object partially or fully immersed in a fluid. Archimedes' Principle states that the upward buoyant force on an object is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object. A helium balloon experiences buoyancy due to the difference in density between the helium gas inside the balloon and the air outside the balloon. The weight of the air displaced by the balloon is greater than the weight of the helium inside, creating an upward buoyant force.
02

Helium Balloon Rises

Helium is a lighter gas compared to air because of its lower density. When the balloon is filled with helium, its total weight becomes less than the weight of the air it displaces. This causes an unbalanced upward force on the balloon, which makes it rise. The buoyant force is always acting upwards, working against the downward force of gravity. As gravity cannot pull the balloon down with enough force due to its light weight, the balloon rises.
03

Expansion of Helium with Altitude

As the helium balloon rises, the atmospheric pressure and temperature decrease. With decreasing external pressure, the pressure of helium inside the balloon causes it to expand. At high altitudes, the helium atoms inside the balloon move faster and occupy a greater volume. The balloon material keeps expanding as the helium gas expands inside it.
04

Balloon Pops

The expansion of the helium gas continues as the balloon reaches higher altitudes. Eventually, the stress in the material of the balloon due to the expanding helium becomes greater than the material's strength. When the stress exceeds the breaking point of the material, the balloon pops. The point at which the balloon pops depends on various factors like the type of balloon material, the initial helium pressure, and the temperature at altitude. In summary, the behavior of a helium balloon soaring upward and eventually popping can be explained through the principles of buoyancy, lighter gaseous properties of helium, and expansion & rupture of the balloon at high altitudes.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Rationalize the following observations. a. Aerosol cans will explode if heated. b. You can drink through a soda straw. c. A thin-walled can will collapse when the air inside is removed by a vacuum pump. d. Manufacturers produce different types of tennis balls for high and low altitudes.

Show how Boyle's law and Charles's law are special cases of the ideal gas law.

Explain how increasing the number of moles of gas affects the volume (assuming constant pressure and temperature).

Which statement best explains why a hot-air balloon rises when the air in the balloon is heated? a. According to Charles's law, the temperature of a gas is directly related to its volume. Thus the volume of the balloon increases, decreasing the density. b. Hot air rises inside the balloon, which lifts the balloon. c. The temperature of a gas is directly related to its pressure. The pressure therefore increases, which lifts the balloon. d. Some of the gas escapes from the bottom of the balloon, thus decreasing the mass of gas in the balloon. This decreases the density of the gas in the balloon, which lifts the balloon. e. Temperature is related to the velocity of the gas molecules. Thus the molecules are moving faster, hitting the balloon more, and lifting the balloon. For choices you did not pick, explain what you feel is wrong with them, and justify the choice you did pick.

Using postulates of the kinetic molecular theory, give a molecular interpretation of Boyle's law, Charles's law, and Dalton's law of partial pressures.
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