How to inflate balls with helium at home

Preparation for the holiday should be thorough, especially for activities for children. Boys and girls are indescribable delight when they come across helium balls directed upwards. Such holiday attributes give the atmosphere a special atmosphere, but it is not always possible to assemble a composition of balloons from professionals. In urgent cases, you have to look for alternative methods at home.

Salt and blue vitriol

Prepare cool filtered water, cling film, glass bottle, salt and copper sulfate in advance. Wear rubber gloves, a gown with a throat, and safety glasses to prevent skin damage.

1. Expand the sheet of foil and cut a plate measuring 18 * 18 cm. In thin lines of about 0.5 cm, then send the strips to a liter glass bottle. Follow up with 75 g. copper sulfate and 85 gr. chopped salt. Immediately cover the neck with your hand so that the reaction does not start due to oxygen tolerance.
2. At this stage, you need help from a friend, because the procedure must be carried out quickly. Pour 430 ml into the bottle. filtered water, at a fast pace, put a ball on the neck and hold it at the base. Please note that the reaction will begin immediately, you will find out about this by the state of the mixture, it will go into the gaseous phase.
3. Try not to let the mixture go “wasted”; one such composition will be enough for several balls. On average, one ball will inflate for about 4 seconds, so do not hesitate.

Important!
Keep your face away from the mixture bottle to avoid damage to the skin and mucous membranes of the eyes. If the ball bursts or bursts from the neck, you can be badly hurt. Keep the vessel at arm's length.

When the chemical reaction begins, the bottle will become hot in a short time. To avoid burns, you can dip it in cool water or squeeze it with an unnecessary cloth / towel.

Sodium hydroxide

Alkaline solution is dangerous for the skin, so be sure to wear gloves, a bathrobe, safety glasses. Sodium hydroxide is a mixture of caustic soda and concentrated (caustic) sodium, which in itself is unsafe. Carry out the procedure away from children and pets, be sure to ventilate the room before and after inflating the balls.

Prepare warm filtered water, sodium hydroxide (alkali), industrial or hookah foil (thick), a liter glass bottle.

1. Put 450 ml in a bottle. clean warm water.
2. Take one foil plate measuring 20 * 20 cm. Divide it into thin lines or chop it into very small pieces, add to the water tank.
3. Measure out exactly 20 g. sodium hydroxide and gently pour it into the bottle, be sure to do it with gloves.
4. Pull the base of the ball over the throat of the vessel, hold it tight so that the ball does not fly off.
5. Shake the container, the foil should be completely immersed in the composition.
6. You will see that the ball begins to inflate, do not try to collect too much helium at a time, it is better to stretch the composition in several stages.

A solution of vinegar and baking soda

This technique is considered the safest because it does not include alkali or other industrial concentrates. However, safety precautions must be observed. Always use silicone or rubber gloves, wear glasses, a bathrobe.

Prepare a solution of vinegar (ordinary table vinegar), its concentration should not exceed the mark of 9%. Make sure baking soda is on hand.

1. The peculiarity of the method is such that the composition is poured not only into the bottle, but also into the ball.Pour 45–55 ml into the vessel. vinegar solution, pour 30 g into a ball. baking soda, then put its base on the neck of the container.
2. Gently flip the ball so that the soda spills out into vinegar. The reaction will happen instantly: the container will become warm, and the ball will begin to inflate.
3. To fill the following balls, clean the bottle cavity from the previous composition, wipe it dry and repeat the manipulations. The container must be dry, otherwise moisture will suppress the reaction.

Electrodes and battery

To prepare the composition, you will need to acquire a 12-Watt battery, an electrolyte (sulfuric acid or potassium hydroxide is suitable), graphite electrodes (not copper!). In addition to the main components, take care of the presence of two liter bottles made of plastic, a plastic wash basin and clean filtered water. As in all previous methods, protect your skin and eyes (put on a dressing gown, gloves, glasses).

1. Take a 15-liter basin, fill it with half clean water.
2. Pour potassium hydroxide / sulfuric acid (electrolyte) into the first liter bottle, 3-4 cm back from the edge of the neck.
3. Take the ball and put the base on the opening of the vessel, then make small holes in the bottom of the container and insert the electrode. Keep tight, the holes should not be wide so that the device fits tightly into the vessel.
4. Do the same with the second bottle, following the sequence. When everything is ready, proceed to the next step.
5. Put both bottles in the basin, put the battery next to it and connect the electrodes to it, observing the polarity (plus “+”, minus “-”).
6. Connect the battery to the power source, watch for the beginning of the reaction.

An important feature of this method is that only one ball on the side with negative polarity can rise up (it will be filled with hydrogen). The second ball will be saturated with oxygen, so there is little sense from it.

Make sure that you have the necessary materials and tools at hand, observe safety precautions. Complex methods using electrodes and a battery, as well as sodium hydroxide should be entrusted to a man. Women will be able to translate into reality the preparation of a composition of soda and vinegar, salt and copper sulfate.

Video: do-it-yourself flying balloon without helium