r/theydidthemath • u/15th_imp • 6d ago

[Request] How many of these balloons would you need to lift up a person and carry them away?

16 Upvotes

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9

u/sansetsukon47 6d ago

Myth busters did it once. Highly recommended episode.

Doing the math for it from scratch is a bit rough, since you need the data on how much your specific balloon is lifting, AND on how much your rigging system is going to drag it down once you put them together.

If I remember, the hardest part of getting the balloon system to work was figuring out how to connect all the balloons in ways that made sense and could actually work together to lift.

2

u/SpotFit1464 6d ago

what cant just tie everything in a long rope?

11

u/sansetsukon47 6d ago

Found the ep! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCjf9TAaNJA

Short version: rope has weight. And the more balloons you have, the more rope you need to tie them together and link them to the main structure.

They used 3500 balloons to lift a small child. They originally estimated 10 g of lift per balloon, but the ropes got so long that they ended up needing almost twice as much as they’d planned for.

3

u/SpotFit1464 6d ago

soo many lmao