- 130
- (Also "spaghetti" balloons). An airship balloon that, when inflated, is one inch wide and thirty inches long. 130 balloons are extremely difficult to inflate by mouth and are used for twisting into shapes of animals, etc. just as 260 balloons are.
- 260
- (Also, 260B, 260Q, 260EZ, "twisting" or "modeling" balloons). An airship balloon that, when inflated, is two inches wide and sixty inches (five feet) long. The letter designation after 260 often denotes a brand (Q for Qualatex is a very popular brand). 260 balloons are often twisted into shapes of animals, etc. Widely used by clowns and entertainers. They can also be used in conjunction with round balloons in decorating.
- 350
- (Also, 350Q, etc.). An airship balloon that, inflated, is three inches wide and fifty inches (four feet two inches) long. 350 balloons can be twisted just as 260s can, giving "fatter" sculptures and shapes, but are less pliable due to their
larger diameter. Also used occasionally in decorating.
- air
- "Air" refers to the gas mixture that comprises the earth's atmosphere. Most (about 78%) of air is made up of nitrogen, a relatively unreactive gas. Another 21% of air is oxygen, the essential gas for animal life and explosive in its pure form. The remaining 1% is largely comprised of the inert gases helium, neon, and argon, and carbon dioxide, a by-product of animal respiration and combustion. Water vapor is also present in normal air.
A balloon blown up by mouth will contain a higher percentage of both carbon dioxide and water vapor than the air around it. Because of this, the balloon will be heavier than one inflated to the same size with room air. One advantage to mouth inflation is that the air inside the balloon is usually warmer, making the balloon softer and increasing its ability to be inflated larger before popping.
- airship
- A type of balloon that is cylindrical in shape - that is, it is longer than it is wide and has a constant diameter throughout its length. The longer, thinner ones are used for twisting and sculpture, while the shorter and wider airships are mainly toy balloons. See also zeppelin, which are slightly different.
- balloon
- Balloons come in many shapes, sizes, and materials. Generally, the term refers to a non-rigid envelope made to confine some type of gas inside of it. Usually, the term used by itself refers to either an envelope made of latex or mylar, but can also refer to a hot-air balloon, which is a fabric envelope. Balloons can enclose any type of gas or liquid, the most common being either air or helium.
- bulb
- On a round balloon, the bulb refers to the main, round portion of the balloon which, when inflated, is ovoid (usually the case in smaller sized balloons) or spherical (many larger sized balloons).
- Chloroprene, also called neoprene, is a synthetic elastomer which is less expensive than natural latex. Chloroprene differs from the natural latex polymer cis-polyisoprene only in the replacement of one vinyl hydrogen with chloride. Many of the larger weather balloons are made from chloroprene for cost-effectiveness and minimal weight, giving more lift for your dollar.
- church window
- A church window refers to a thin spot of latex on a balloon caused by bubbles forming on the dipped form, which during the drying process pop and leave a thinner layer of latex underneath. Church windows can be as small as pinpricks or as large as a dime, though the former are more common. A church window that is too thin can be the weak link in a balloon and can cause it to prematurely or spontaneously pop.
- double-dipped
- Some balloons, especially larger ones such as 24" Qualatex, are dipped into latex again after their initial dipping, making the latex thicker and more durable, and evening out the color of the balloon. Specialty balloons such as agate-colored balloons are dipped the second time in a different color latex to produce multicolor patterns. Double-dipped balloons are often very strong and reliable, although the layers in some poorly-made agate balloons can separate, causing weak spots.
- drip point
- The drip point of a balloon is the thickened spot of latex directly opposite the balloon's neck. Drip points form in the manufacturing process since the forms dipped in latex are transported bulb-side down, making the viscous latex collect and slightly thicken near the bottom of the form. One sign of a fully inflated balloon is a very small, or even non-existent drip point. Drip points are sometimes less noticeable in
double dipped balloons.
- fluted
- A fluted balloon is made on molds that have "flutes" or depressions, four or eight of them, spaced around the mold. The bulb of a fluted balloon as a result inflates to a spherical, sometimes boxy, shape, rather than the ovoid shape of other round balloons. Fluting is commonly done for large balloons: some 16" and most American-made 36" and up are fluted. One notable exception is the 24" Qualatex.
- Geo
- Geo is a trademark of Qualatex and describes a balloon which is donut-shaped. Geos have two shapes: donut, which is smooth and round, and blossom, which is a five-pointed flower shape. Geos are manufactured using a patented split mold that allows the finished balloon to be extracted off the mold; there are no seams in the central hole of a Geo, only around the top where the split of the mold allows latex to accumulate in a ring.
- heart
- A heart balloon is essentially two round balloons fused together in a heart-shape. The lobes of the heart inflate last when the heart is inflated, and the seam between the lobes is often plagued with church window defects, making it the heart's weak point; moreso since as the lobes inflate, the seam is put under added stress.
- helium
- Element number two of the periodic table, one atom of helium consists of two each of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Helium is extremely unreactive (in fact, no natural compounds of helium exist) and is the second lightest element only to hydrogen. In fact, air is seven times denser than helium, so helium will naturally rise in our atmosphere. An 11-inch balloon filled with helium will float because of this, and will be capable of lifting almost a half-ounce of weight. Larger balloons, of course, can lift considerably more. Weather ballons filled with helium can lift measuring equipment; blimps filled with helium can lift tons.
Helium is not only the second smallest, but the second most abundant element in the universe to hydrogen, because the main fuel source of large stars such as the sun is the fusion of hydrogen into helium, which releases large amounts of energy in the form of light (the infrared wavelengths are responsible for heating the earth). Helium can also be split into hydrogen, but it is very difficult. Such a process (called fission) would provide an amazingly efficient supply of energy, but technology has not come up with a way to do this without expending nearly as much energy to cause fission as it would produce.
Because helium is an extremely small molecule, it will eventually leak through the pores between rubber molecules of a latex balloon, deflating the balloon.
- hydrogen
- Element number one of the periodic table, one atom of hydrogen consists of only one proton and one electron. Hydrogen gas exists as diatomic H2. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, and provides a fuel source for many things from stars to cars (coming soon). Hydrogen is extremely reactive and when ignited in air will combine explosively with oxygen to produce water vapor.
The gas of choice to float balloons and dirigibles at the turn of the 20th century, hydrogen was abandoned once helium mining became the widespread, cheaper, and much safer alternative. The famous Hindenburg blimp, which caught fire and crashed, was filled with hydrogen.
- latex
- Latex refers to natural rubber that has been combined with other chemicals and possibly dyes, and lightly vulcanized to provide elasticity. The resulting cross-linked cis-polyisoprene is a component of many things, from paints and glues in its liquid form to balloons, rubber bands, and gloves.
- lip
- The lip of a balloon is formed in the manufacturing process when a couple centimeters of the latex at the tip of the neck is rolled downwards, making a thick, O-shaped lip that allows the balloon to be inflated by mouth; it also aids in gripping balloons which are being inflated on tanks. The lip is quite heavy, relatively; so helium balloons will have longer flight time if their lip is cut off.
- neck
- On a round balloon, the neck connects the rolled lip of the balloon to the bulb. In many balloons, especially smaller sizes, this transition is gradual enough to allow the neck of the balloon to be inflated down to the rolled lip. In larger, fluted balloons, the bulb is spherical and the transition to the neck is sharper; this prevents the neck from inflating very much, if at all, before the bulb pressure is too great and the balloon pops.
- pop
- Popping, bursting, busting, breaking, bursting, whatever you call it: popping refers to the phenomenon that happens when the integrity of latex in an inflated balloon is compromised, causing a fracture in the balloon's skin. The fracture propagates across the balloon's skin, tearing it apart in milliseconds. This quick release of elastic energy produces a crack that is amplified by the balloon's air much like the sounding chamber of a guitar. The result is a loud bang, known as the balloon's pop. Balloons filled with water are still said to "pop", although the water deadens the crack sound made by the latex, which retracts slower than a gas-filled balloon due to water resistance.
The tighter the latex and the larger the balloon, the louder the pop. Small balloons such as 9" and 12" will burst at very high stress levels and therefore release elastic energy quicker, giving a loud pop; but the small surface area and volume make the pop a higher-pitched crack noise. In contrast, large balloons usually burst at lower latex stress levels, making the pop quieter than you'd think, but the greater surface area gives the fracture more room to accelerate and the larger volume of air inside makes for a deeper boom. The fiercest combination of volume and depth of resonance occurs in medium-sized balloons, from 14" to 17".
- zeppelin
- A zeppelin balloon is an elongated round balloon: unlike an airship, a zeppelin is wider in diameter in the middle than at the ends. Sometimes called "paddle" balloons.