How many helium balloons does it take to lift 1 lb?

Answer:
Only one if the balloon has enough heilum. You may want to restate the question more succinctly.

ans 2

At standard conditions:

22.4 Liters of air weighs approximately 29 grams
22.4 Liters of helium weighs 4 grams
29 grams - 4 grams = 25 grams

That means that each 22.4 Liters of helium provides a buoyant force of 25 grams. 22.4 Liters / 25 grams = 0.896 Liters/gram

There are 454 grams in 1 pound
454 grams/pound x 0.896 Liters/gram = 407 Liters/pound

If you hook 407 1-Liter helium balloons to the 1-pound object, it would neither sink nor float. To lift the weight, you'd need "more than 407 1-Liter balloons".

This presumes that the weight of the balloons is figured into the 1 pound. If not, you'll need to find the weight of the 407+ empty balloons.

ans 3

Since you get the same result with one balloon with a capacity of 407 liters + 1 liter, I say again that the number of balloons is irrelevent unless you state their capacity as part of the question.

First answer by Michael Cleveland. Last edit by Michael Cleveland. Contributor trust: 43 [recommend contributor recommended]. Question popularity: 2 [recommend question].