Since lungs are not a rigid container, actual time to reach 1. However, calculations clearly show that, given the flow rate and pressure available from a helium balloon-filling system, human lungs can be fatally overpressured in a fraction of a second.
Victims simply do not have time to react. CGA is a leading authority on technical and safety information for the industrial, medical, and food gases industry in North America and around the world. Our members are committed to the continuous advancement of industry safety. By Henry G. Wickes, Jr. Public Awareness Most people simply do not have the information available to help them understand hazards associated with inhaling helium.
Inhaling Helium from a Balloon A little-known aspect of inhaling helium is how quickly you may lose consciousness due to asphyxia oxygen deprivation.
Commercial Balloon-Filling Systems Helium balloon-filling systems have become popular in recent years, and are frequently found in supermarkets, party supply stores, and variety stores. Inhaling Helium from a Commercial System Attempting to inhale helium from a commercial helium balloon filling system poses a greater hazard than does inhaling helium from a balloon. Gas Flow vs. Lung Capacity Gas flow rate of 5 cfm is equivalent to 2. Henry G.
Wickes Jr. This article is excerpted from Professional Safety magazine with permission of the publisher and the author.
If you decided to read a book, the energy from the candy bar would be stored as fat. As Dr. Oz pointed out, kids tend to eat a lot of sugary snacks in environments that would get them excited and give them reason to run around and be active such as a birthday party, Halloween, or just having a friend over after school.
The audience was laughing so much from Dr. When I was growing up, I was told that this was a bad idea and that brain cells were being destroyed. The good news is, breathing helium does not kill brain cells. The bad news is that breathing helium can, in fact, kill you — but not because of the helium, rather because the lack of oxygen when you inhale the helium.
As you breathe in a balloon full of helium, you are not breathing in any oxygen, which your cells need — usually we get this from the air we breathe. The lack of oxygen that comes from breathing in helium can cause fainting or even asphyxiation and death.
This is especially likely if you were to breathe several balloons full of helium without getting enough oxygen in between. The bottom line; avoid breathing any gas that is not already in the air around you.
Due to its lower density , sound travels over twice as fast through helium than it does regular air. When you breathe in helium, your voice travels much more quickly across your vocal cords. This results in the funny sounds you make when you talk after breathing helium. Some people think that the helium changes the pitch of your voice. In reality, however, your vocal cords vibrate at the same frequency.
The helium actually affects the sound quality of your voice its tone or timbre by allowing sound to travel faster and thus change the resonances of your vocal tract by making it more responsive to high- frequency sounds. Helium is the second most abundant element in the known universe hydrogen is the most abundant.
Inhaling a couple of breaths of helium is usually harmless. Breathing a lot of helium, however, can be dangerous. Prolonged inhalation of helium can lead to an inadequate amount of oxygen in the lungs and blood.
This, in turn, can lead to brain injury and, in rare cases, even death. A few puffs of helium from a balloon usually isn't a big deal, though.
In fact, helium can be helpful in some instances. Doctors have sometimes treated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD with a mixture of helium and oxygen. Helium's lower density can help improve airflow in the lungs of people with COPD. If you've ever breathed helium and heard the sound of your voice, you've probably noticed that the effect wears off quickly.
That's because the effect only lasts as long as there's helium around your vocal cords. As soon as regular air replaces the helium, your voice returns to normal. We hope today's Wonder of the Day wasn't filled with too much hot air.
Keep learning more about helium by exploring the following activities with a friend or family member:. Great question, Kitty Kat! Inhaling a couple of breaths of helium is usually harmless, but breathing a lot of helium can be dangerous. Thanks, Ashrafi Balloons! We're thrilled that you discovered more about why helium changes the sound of your voice from this Wonder! Thanks for asking, Jakob L! We ask that Wonderopolis be listed as the author.
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Be sure that you do not inhale too much helium! This can lead to your body not getting enough oxygen, and can cause some serious problems! We aren't sure what you mean, Isaac. Could you clarify for us? Thanks for checking out this Wonder! Thanks for commenting, caraline! Scroll up to the images, just under the Wonder of the Day title. You'll notice an image with a "play" button -- click it to view the video!
If the video isn't working, it could be blocked if you are on a school computer. By researching this Wonder question, we learned that, due to its lower density, sound travels more than twice as fast through helium than it does regular air, affecting the tone of your voice. Hi, alex! Thanks for visiting Wonderopolis to find information for your project! We hope this Wonder was helpful. We also encourage you to keep researching at the library and online! Hi, Alyanna! Thank you for checking with us about citing this Wonder of the Day!
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Yes, Samantha, breathing in large amounts much helium can be very dangerous. Too much helium can limit the amount of oxygen in your blood and lead to brain damage. We bet your voice sounded pretty funny when you inhaled some helium! Did it make you giggle? Oooh, that's an interesting question! If the bouncy house itself is light enough, it may be possible that it would float away! We're glad bouncy houses aren't filled with helium, though -- who knows where you might end up floating to!!
Thanks for hanging out with us in Wonderopolis, Miss Joey and Kiddos! We think it's great that you are being so thoughtful about caring for the world around you, Kamren! Here are a couple Wonders of the Day that describe ways we each can do our part of combat global warming and help the environment! Be sure to check out the "Try It Out" sections of each Wonder! Have you ever heard someone talk after inhaling a little helium? It makes us giggle!
Hi, Anthony! Overall, helium isn't too dangerous. But humans can't solely breathe in helium. We need oxygen for the health of our organs. Recently, one family made headlines after a mom in Scotland found her daughter unconscious at McDonald's. The 9-year-old sucked in helium from a balloon she'd found and passed out, The Sun reported.
Her eyes were rolling and I was terrified. The balloon was just floating in the store, and when the staff and others saw Daisy playing with it, they thought nothing of it. After five minutes and some fresh air, Daisy came to. She was ultimately fine, but not all stories have such happy endings.
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