• Question: Why isn't helium affected by gravity?

    Asked by anon-181219 on 14 Jun 2018.
    • Photo: Claire Donald

      Claire Donald answered on 14 Jun 2018:

      Helium itself isn’t affected by gravity as it is a gas and not a solid object. Although, if you think of a helium filled balloon, the balloon itself is being pulled down by gravity because its an object. However the helium gas inside causes the balloon to float because helium has displaced some air (like an empty plastic bottle in a bucket displaces water). Helium gas is lighter than air and as long as the weight of the helium + the balloon is less than the air it has displaced, the balloon will float. Tada!

    • Photo: Lauren Burns

      Lauren Burns answered on 14 Jun 2018:

      A great answer Claire! 🙂 Thank you!

    • Photo: Alex Haragan

      Alex Haragan answered on 14 Jun 2018:

      I will add that air/gas is effected by gravity – everything is! If it wasn’t air and gas would be free to run off into space and leave us without an atmosphere!
      As Claire has said – helium is lighter than “air” (a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, some carbon dioxide and a few other things) – so if contained (within a balloon say) it is free to float about the air, but gravity still keeps it within the earth’s pull.

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