Foam balloon
Encyclopedia
A foam balloon, also known as flogo', is a special type of gas-filled balloon
. Strictly speaking a foam balloon is not a balloon, as it has no envelope, but consists of an organic material up-foamed with hydrogen
or helium
. Thus foam balloons cannot burst. However their carrying capacity is smaller than that of normal balloons. Foam balloons are manufactured as a rule directly at the place of the ascent with a special machine. The form of the foam balloon can be varied hereby. It is possible to create foam balloons with diameter of more than 1 metre. Identical foam balloons can be manufactured with the same machine in short repetition periods. Foam balloons are used frequently for advertising purposes, since they can be manufactured easily in the form of company symbols. In principle also wind conditions in the lower atmosphere can be easily monitored with their aid. Foam balloons are not long-term stable, but decay after some hours. Nevertheless they can reach heights of several kilometres.
Balloon
A balloon is an inflatable flexible bag filled with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. Modern balloons can be made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or a nylon fabric, while some early balloons were made of dried animal bladders, such as the pig...
. Strictly speaking a foam balloon is not a balloon, as it has no envelope, but consists of an organic material up-foamed with hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
or helium
Helium
Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...
. Thus foam balloons cannot burst. However their carrying capacity is smaller than that of normal balloons. Foam balloons are manufactured as a rule directly at the place of the ascent with a special machine. The form of the foam balloon can be varied hereby. It is possible to create foam balloons with diameter of more than 1 metre. Identical foam balloons can be manufactured with the same machine in short repetition periods. Foam balloons are used frequently for advertising purposes, since they can be manufactured easily in the form of company symbols. In principle also wind conditions in the lower atmosphere can be easily monitored with their aid. Foam balloons are not long-term stable, but decay after some hours. Nevertheless they can reach heights of several kilometres.