How many helium balloons does it take to lift a liter of water?
About 100 balloonsA liter of water weighs 1 kg, and each balloon lifts about 10 g.
It takes about 100 balloons.
How we worked it out
A liter of water weighs 1 kg, 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 #38. 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 #38Play today’s experiments
More balloons questions
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a basketball? About 62.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift an umbrella? About 67.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a hedgehog? About 80.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a trumpet? About 110.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a duck? About 110.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a pineapple? About 150.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a laptop? About 150.
- How many helium balloons does it take to lift a rabbit? About 160.