eli5 What happens to helium balloons after they float into the atmosphere?
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The higher up an object travels the lower the pressure acting on it gets. The equation for pressure in fluids is pressure = depth in fluid × gravitational field strength × density of fluid. The atmosphere is a fluid and thus the higher one goes the lower the pressure acting on oneself will be. There is air inside the balloon and this causes a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the balloon. The equation for pressure on a surface is pressure = force ÷ area. And thus a force is exerted on the material of the balloon causing it to stretch and eventually pop.
TD,LR The will pop when the pressure is low enough and the material of the now ex balloon will fall back to earth. As for the helium in the balloon, well my knowledge of physics is limited, from what I have heard, the helium will become trapped at the top of the atmosphere since it has a low density compared to many other gasses and this will easily be displaced.
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