Make a Solar Heated Balloon

This instructable will show you how to make a hot air balloon. This balloon will not use any sort of flame to make this, though. Instead, it uses the sun to heat the balloon. I saw this at American Science & Surplus, but it was $17.50 USD, so I wanted something cheaper; I went out and made my own!

Step 1: How it Works

The black color of the trash bags makes the air inside heat up. Everyone knows that hot air rises, thus making the balloon rise.

Comments

[PikminRed]

(removed by author or community request)

[Eye Poker]

I refer you to Charles Gas Law.

http://physics.info/gas-laws/

[ongissim]

Of course, it isn't going to stay inflated.

[Gooberbrother]

Thanks for this. Might try this with Ados glue instead of duc tape? Filled with home made Methane might be fun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrVC4XKR2s4

[Strutzy3]

homemade methane: you mean fart in a bag?
(didn't watch youtube link)

[brokengun]

My friend and I used to do this for fun. Our most successful flying design was more of a pyramid shape. I would also suggest filling them initially using a hair dryer, be careful not to melt the plastic but it really improves the lift.

The hardest part is just getting them off the ground a ways, once they're airborne and above the trees they will be blown around and will usually take off.

Check out our flight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yuj8LnTBFLY

[misterpicture]

I think this is an AWESOME idea. But I have one question, How many bags would I have to use to lift a small point and shoot camera?

[dude-man-13]

my guess is that on a sunny winer/fall day at least double for this design.. but their are other designs that use less tape such as a very long tube.but to be honest i wouldn't trust this with my camera i would use a couple helium filled weather or a bunch of party sized balloons.

[dude-man-13]

sorry i didnt know i was on the long tube instructable.. but if you search for solar balloons youll find a ton

[nate121]

yea heh heh dont let this go near air ports ther think its a ufo or sumthing and cancelle a lot of flights and comircil airports will have it shot down...by the airforce thinking its a threat to national security or somting like that. i know my local small air port the owner comes out with a rifle and shoots em till they come down.

[Honestinwilkesbarre]

1- In most places in the U.S., it's illegal to discharge a weapon into the air. 2- Everywhere in the universe it's stupid to discharge a weapon into the air. Don't know why? I shot a arrow into the air it came to earth, I know not where. That's right, boyz 'n girlz, gravity. Don't be stupid like Mr. Airportowner, 'cause once you kill someone, you can't unkill them.

[robbert229]

Just firing a .22 caliber round can travel up to a mile, not accurately but still you could do a lot of damage if you shot your weapon into the air.

[lasermaster3531]

lol!!

[Lance Mt.]

...

[catman529]

I can see why he would shoot them down; aircraft approaching or taking off could easily get the balloon sucked into an engine, much like a bird strike. The farther up in the sky they go, the smaller the chance of an aircraft colliding with one. I wonder if there have been any weather balloon strikes on aircraft...

[PikminRed]

Id be worse if he shot the engine or cockpit.. a dead pilot does you no good.

[Paymeister]

Might also try it with a surrounding bag of clear plastic. It would add weight, but it would keep the heat of the black bag from radiating.

[Paymeister]

Hm... (regarding added weight of duct tape)...

How 'bout adding no weight at all? Just need a heat sealer (I've purchased 'em used for $30 or so):

1) Placing the cut bag (=tube element) inside the end bag;
2) With edges even with each other;
3) Use impulse sealer (=industrial heat sealer) to seal exposed ends;
4) Roll bag assembly towards or away from you until you've sealed the whole circumference;
5) Pull the cut bag (=tube element) out of end bag, leaving the sealed edges sticking outwards (trim them with scissors if desired);
6) Add the next cut bag (=tube element) and repeat;
7) Continue 'til last bag: use the end bag rather than a cut bag (tube element) stuffed into the assembled long tube, with edges aligned.

Might be a bit rough, as the 'bite' of the impulse sealer will be more like a series of scallops as you twiddle the bag (you can't seal continuous lines longer than the unit's size, so you have to lay just that length into the sealer, then move along). But it would probably be doable. Will try and post results... in my spare time...

Thanks for the fun idea!

[LeonArchiTesla]

overlap your plastic at the seams and put wax paper on top and bottom and use an iron to heat/melt them together (practice beforehand to know best temp and speed for moving the iron to seal completely). Much lighter/smoother...give it a go!

[Paymeister]

If you pressurize your balloon you'll lose bouyancy and risk leaks or tearing, so you want the less dense hot air pressure to be the same 'pressure as the outside air. To do that you do the weather balloon trick of starting with a partially filled balloon.
.
Doing the math: Let's assume the air inside the bag is going to get 25 degrees hotter than outside. I'll measure it if I try this project, but let's just throw some numbers around. (I chose 25 for a reason: stick with me.) A change of 25 degrees F = a change of about 14 degrees C (C=F*5/9, ignoring the 32 degree fudge since it's a difference we're talking about); this is also the change in degrees Kelvin, since the C and K degrees are the same size.

PV=nRT is the universal gas formula where P=pressure, V=volume, n=number of molecules, R=gas constant, and T=temperature in degrees Kelvin 

P you want the same (see above); n and R don't change, so what you get is: V=fT (f being a fudge factor), so

V1=fT1 and V2=fT2

Solve for f:     f=V1/T1 and f=V2/T2

Combine the two: V1/T1 = V2/T2

Collect Volumes on one side an Temps on the other: V2/V1 = T2/T1

Thus the percent change in volume (V2/V1) is proportional to the change in temperature (T2/T1) ...which you knew: hotter = bigger

But what is the percent change in temp? Thus, if T goes up by 25 degrees F = 14 degrees Kelvin (from the wild guess, above), it's going from about 300K to 314K, or a change of about 5%. (This assumes that it is 80 degrees outside.)

So, if one UNDERFILLS the bag by five percent, it will inflate completely and to neutral pressure when it warms to 105 degrees F.

To do this one would measure the bag length in inches and multiply that by 0.05, and roll up that length of plastic at the end and put some books or a board on it, fill to desired plumpness, seal, then remove the weight and let the bag slump a bit. For a ten-foot-long balloon that would come to six inches rolled up before inflating.

I think. It's 3:41 AM...

[PikminRed]

Also, whats the best season for this?

[ongissim]

I've only used mine during the summer, usually about an hour before dusk.  I suppose it would work better in the winter, though only if you can keep the bags' internal air heated adequately.  My hypothesis on this is that colder temperature means lower pressure, and the heated air in the balloon is hotter, which has a higher pressure.  Therefore, the balloon would go higher when the external air is colder.

[yanksguy]

Not quite. As air expands it becomes less dense. If the air in the trashbag becomes less dense relative to the air outside the bag it will rise. So, the best time to do this is on a very sunny, cold, low wind day. Even if it's really cold outside the black of the bag will absorb the heat and transfer this heat to the air inside the bag.

[mikaelthemycologist]

Mine works great in the winter, but I've never used it in the summer

[ANDY!]

i made one and left it outside under a book. it's gone now...

[PikminRed]

YAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay summer time! ima try thi this weekend!

[lolifer]

When I was in Ukraine a few years ago, I saw a man flying a whole mess of these balloons shaped like dolphins in a local park. It was really wonderful and surreal.

I'm glad I now know what these are, and I'll def try making one.

[mikaelthemycologist]

My balloon made its best flight ever a few days ago, It went soooooo high! but when I tried pulling it down (mines attached to a string) it landed in a tree.

I guess I saved the best for last

[PikminRed]

Mine consits of two 45 gallon trash bags ducktaped together and it is about two meters long. its extremely light and was fun to bounce up around the garage. I have a celing mounted workshop heater and it was originally aimed at me to warm me up, being 32 degrees here, I wondered why, after I stepped back for a minute to "admire it" it started hopping a bit then lifted off the ground. Epic success! Im going to add a kite spindle (whatever the handle for kites are called) and string. I hope to see it tomorrow, if its not snowing. If it does snow, this could wait. ( snows not super often here so its a bit of a rarity, once every two years) the horizantal peice of the ducktape is where the hole for the blower was.

[PikminRed]

How fast does it heat up and rise? Could I use a hair dryer to heat it?

[ongissim]

It usually heats up within three or four minutes on a non-cloudy day.  I wouldn't recommend a hair dryer, just because the initial temperature of the air doesn't matter (unless it's really, really cold).

[mikaelthemycologist]

I made one of these, it worked! It was really cool. It only works on very sunny days, no clouds. I used some thin fishing line (8 lb I think) and and old fishing rod and reel to keep the balloon from floating away and ending up in a sea turtles stomach.

[AdamYea]

to fill just run with the bag open above ur head then u dont need an air compressor

[FabioBurkard]

hahahahahahhhhhh

[beezee2]

It would be nice to see a short video clip that shows that this will actually float... It seems that with all the duct tape it would be too heavy...? In my high school there were a bunch of guys that did this same type of balloon, but filled it with natural gas which is lighter than air, but not nearly so as helium... But their balloons floated pretty well!

[eugarps]

Gathering from the sum of most of the comments above, it seems that "Lightweight construction" is a crucial element in success. Having said this, I was wondering how much "pull" this balloon has in ideal conditions? I was thinking of scaling this idea up in order to do some aerial photography, very akin to "kite" photography. It seems that this would be a better solution in my geographic area, as there is rarely enough wind to fly a kite reliably. I have a nice digital camera and Handycam, each in the realm of 1-2 pounds. Something tells me that the proposed "airship" would have to be bigger than I think, but what are your opinions based upon the balloons you've already created? Thanks for your input!

[ongissim]

Well, the largest balloon I made was a 32 bag (bags were double layered- 16 bags long) and it was able to get airborne with a couple of nets draped over it, totaling about 3 lbs. of lift. I know, without a doubt, it could lift a small camcorder up.

[twocvbloke]

hehehe, phallic... :P If you get it all set up right, you can use them to get aerial shots by attaching a wireless camera to it, if you can get it high enough that is... :D

[readmedottext]

Me and my kids built one of these last year. It was doing pretty well till it snagged on the barbs of a fence. Otherwise I think it might have gone airborn. They are a lot of fun. The cheaper (thinner) the garbage bag, the better.

[cowscankill]

How do you keep air from coming out?