What is actually happening in your body when you breathe in helium that changes your voice?
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Helium is less dense than air, which is a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen mostly, and is the reason helium balloons rise. Voice sounds are made by a gas, in most cases air, passing through the vocal folds (voice box) and causing vibrations that resonate the gas within the mouth. The mouth changes the sounds produced and speech is made.
When the density of the gas decreases, the resonance of the vibrations is increased to create a higher sounding pitch. Sulfur hexaflouride is a gas that is more dense than air and a balloon filled with it would sink to the ground quickly. Inhaling sulfur hexaflouride and speaking causes the resonant vibrations to be lower and the voice is thus lower.
There’s a good bit in Impractical Jokers where they make Murr give a speech and alternate inhaling the two gasses and his voice is changing with each breath.
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