How many helium balloons does it take to lift a baseball?
About 15 balloonsA baseball weighs 145 g, and each balloon lifts about 10 g.
It takes about 15 balloons.
How we worked it out
A baseball weighs 145 g, and each balloon lifts about 10 g. Standard 11-inch party balloons at sea level, about 10 g of lift each. Real life adds a little friction and waste, so treat the number as a solid ballpark rather than a lab result. The constants behind every experiment are on the science page.
Watch it happen
This was one of the five experiments in It Took #32. In the game you guess first, then the experiment plays out with your number: too few and it fails, too many and it overshoots.
Play It Took #32Play today’s experiments
More balloons questions
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a hamster? About 12.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a banana? About 12.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift an orange? About 14.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift an apple? About 18.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a smartphone? About 21.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a Big Mac? About 22.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a volleyball? About 27.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a 250-page paperback? About 28.