A spherical helium balloon consists of mylar of mass m and is filled with helium gas of density ρHe. If the surrounding air has density ρA, to what radius does the balloon have to be filled with helium gas in order for the balloon to be neutrally buoyant, i.e. neither rising nor falling in the Earth’s gravitational field?
for the helium balloon to have a neutral buoyant force, the sum of all the forces acting on the balloon must equal zero.
the helium balloon occupies a volume, assuming it is completely spherical, equal to
The mass of the desplaced air is
Since the volume of the displaced air is equal to the volume of the helium gas, then.
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