Poll of the Day > will balloons be sold in outer space

(+) Yeah! (+)

do they even work there

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No. They'd just *pop*.

WastelandCowboy posted...

No. They'd just *pop*.

huh...

Do balloons pop if the pressure on both sides is the same?

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WastelandCowboy posted...

No. They'd just *pop*.

strong balloons

made of space metals

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In theory there is stuff in space, and technically just a VERY small amount of gas could expand within a ballon, and not pop in space. The amount (how small) would need to be tested, but if it wasn't possible, space suits would pop as well (since they are just thicker etc, so can contain more o2/pressure without popping.

So yes, you could have balloons in space (in theory). There are other factors like ensuring it's not too cold (or hot depending on the location of the sun) etc.

Also you could make the balloon thicker as well, possibly allowing you to hold enough o2 for instance to use them to resupply a space suit. You could like have a trail of balloons for astronauts to use if they have a malfunction in their 02 cannister or something.

But anyway, yes, you can have balloons in space.

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They will be, but they'll unfortunately be filled with space air.

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Theyll be called space balloons, of course...
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nope, only given away on free balloon day

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Wasn't there a helium shortage?

Echo 1 and 2 were the first passive communications satellites launched by the US. They were literally just metalized balloons that acted as reflectors for microwave signals. Echo 1 remained in orbit for almost 8 years, Echo 2 lasted nearly 5-1/2 years. Echo 1 was 100 feet in diameter and weighed 146 pounds at launch, Echo 2 was 135 feet. Echo 1 was made of Mylar, while Echo 2 was made of Mylar sandwiched between two layers of aluminum foil which gave the satellite a rigid surface allowing it to retain its shape once inflated without having to maintain internal pressure as Echo 1 required.



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streamofthesky posted...

Wasn't there a helium shortage?

only on earth

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I think the real question is "Could a balloon work in earth's atmosphere using only a vacuum in the balloon to cause it to rise and float." It would be working on the principle that causes stuff to float in water, which is that an object in water floats if its weight is displaced. So if you could make a balloon filled with nothing but a vacuum, it would have to displace its weight in air.

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Playsaver posted...

I think the real question is "Could a balloon work in earth's atmosphere using only a vacuum in the balloon to cause it to rise and float." It would be working on the principle that causes stuff to float in water, which is that an object in water floats if its weight is displaced. So if you could make a balloon filled with nothing but a vacuum, it would have to displace its weight in air.

I believe you could design a balloon that could actually end up in orbit. The basic concept would be to have a release valve for pressure in the balloon that released a controlled amount of gas as the pressure increased past a certain point.

This would allow the balloon to have enough lighter gas to float up until the lack of pressure would normally cause it to pop, but instead, the valve would release gas to normalize the pressure again, in theory allowing it to continue raising until it possibly hit orbit.

Now I havn't researched this, so it could totally not work, but it's what I would try.

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There's probably not enough passing trade out there.

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