3 ms·
Coating plastic in this material would add mass, not weight. You can fill a balloon with helium, and in a vacuum it would be heavier because it has more "stuff"
by TallGuyShort 14y ago
Coating plastic in this material would add mass, not weight. You can fill a balloon with helium, and in a vacuum it would be heavier because it has more "stuff" in it. But in our atmosphere, it is less dense than the air, so it floats because the air it displaces is pulled by gravity with greater force.
So the weight is non-zero, but it's actually negative in our atmosphere. It's mass is positive.
- JulianMorrison 14y agoOr to simplify the same thing, "it behaves like a bubble in water".
- sageikosa 14y agoBuoyancy. The weight is still positive (net force of gravity downward), but the air pressure is greater. In the case of the balloon, the added weight of the helium is overpowered by the increased air pressure due to the larger displacement volume, and the balloon follows the path of least resistance (lower air pressure, at higher altitude).