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What gas do you fill balloons with to make them fly?
Release time:
2026-02-04
Balloons can only float if they’re filled with helium or hydrogen, because the densities of helium and hydrogen are lower than that of air. Therefore, balloons filled with either helium or hydrogen can hover in the air. Other gases, such as nitrogen or oxygen, cannot make a balloon float.
However, not all balloons filled with helium or hydrogen will float—whether a balloon can actually rise depends crucially on its size and the amount of gas it contains after inflation. If the balloon is too small, it won’t hold enough gas to support its own weight. For example, consider two identical round balloons: an 18-inch balloon can float, whereas a 10-inch balloon cannot. The reason lies in the fact that after being inflated, the 10-inch balloon contains less helium or hydrogen. With less gas, the lift generated is insufficient to keep the balloon aloft. Thus, the smaller balloon simply can’t float.
In short, whether a balloon filled with helium or hydrogen can float depends on the amount of gas it contains. When we custom-make shaped balloons, Gongfu, out of a sense of responsibility toward our customers, tests whether the balloons will float right during the handcraft sample stage—rather than waiting until the molds and printing plates are completed. If we wait until the molds and plates are ready to test for floatability, it’ll be too late. In that case, if the balloons don’t float, we’d have to retool the molds and remake the printing plates, which would significantly increase production costs.
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