Hypoxia and Medicine

why do balloons pop at high altitudes?

this is a serious question and I'm trying to do a science fair project

Public Comments

1. i think it has something to do with the rarefied atmoshere, in which the air pressure exerting on the balloon is less than the pressure of the balloon, thereby, the balloon keeps expanding until it burst.
2. because the air molecules in the balloons become more aggressive and spread ove rin the balloons. that's why it pops...
3. The size of the balloon is roughly governed by the balance of the forces inside the balloon and outside the balloon. The air in the balloon is pushing out, and the air outside the balloon is pushing in. We usually describe the force of air by something we call pressure. Pressure is the force per area. The air pressure outside the balloon is caused by the weight of the air above in the atmosphere. At the top of the mountain, there is less air above, so there is less air pressure. We can write equations for this. The air pressure outside the balloon obeys P=rho*g*h where rho is density of air, g is acceleration of gravity and h is the height of the air column above. At the top of a mountain, h is less, because there is less air above. Of course, g varies as one goes up, and so does rho, so this is slightly more complicated to use than it appears (one has to use calculus). So when you take the balloon up to higher altitudes, the air inside the balloon is pushing out but not balanced by a force pushing in. So the balloon stretches to make the balloon bigger, and have more volume, thereby rebalancing the pressure inside and outside again. Air roughly obeys the ideal gas law, PV=nRT where P is pressure, V is volume, n corresponds to the amount of gas (number of moles), R is the ideal gas constant and T is temperature. When the balloon stretches, V of the balloon gets larger, so P inside the balloon gets smaller (this is assuming that temperature T in the balloon does not change). If the balloon stretches TOO much, then the skin of the balloon will no longer hold, and the balloon skin will break i.e., the balloon will pop.
4. The pressure up there is much stronger and squeezes to it POP!