How many regular helium balloons would it take to lift me?

If you've seen the Disney movie Up!, you know what we mean: a magical moment when a house lifted by hundreds of colorful balloons flies off the ground and into the air.

Lifting something lighter, such as a penguin plushie, is perfectly doable, even if it is nearly impossible to recreate that moment in real life.lvaro Dez proved it recently.He helped Perri become the world's first flying penguin.You need to watch the footage here.

Perri only needed some balloons.How many?This is what our calculator comes up with.

Before we figure out how many balloons lift a person, we need to understand a bit of theory.Why do these balloons float?They are filled with a lighter-than-air gas.

You know about the phenomenon of buoyancy.An inflatable mattress floats on water because the air it is filled with is lighter than water.As the density of air is higher than that of helium, a balloon filled with this gas will move up.

The density is equal to 0.1785 grams per liter.The air density is about 1.25 grams per liter.The lifting force of one gram is the weight of the balloon and the string.

There are gases that are lighter than air.They are not usually used in balloons.You can change the gas type in the calculator to compare between them.

Let's get on with the calculations!The lifting force of helium is one gram per liter.You will need a lot of balloons to start flying.

Determine your weight.Everything that will be flying should be included in this number.Every gram is important.

You can choose the size of the balloons.We should use regular balloons from an amusement park with a diameter of 30 centimeters.You can enter a custom size of the balloon in the advanced mode.

Determine the volume of a balloon.We will assume that the balloons are spherical.

You will need a lot of balloons.Isn't it quite a lot?You would only need three balloons to lift you up if you chose balloons that are 12 feet in diameter.