Could I ignite a helium balloon by shooting a model rocket at it?

SixPapaCharlie

SixPapaCharlie

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I know I know... This question again...

For reasons I won't explain, I have some really large balloons. I mean really large.
I think they inflate to 8 feet across.

Just to give you an idea of the inflated size, I'd say allegedly that if you put the deflated balloon in the cabin of a Grumman Traveler and used a leaf blower to inflate it, it would take up every square inch of the available room of that plane.

So anyway I have some of these left over from whatever it was reason that I bought them and I got to thinking as I am prone to doing.

Suppose I got me a helium tank and a bunch of gun powder (i.e. bust open some fireworks and spill a good dusting of the innards into the balloon and shake it around), then fill the balloon with helium and send it up tethered to some kite string.

Now I take a run of the mill model rocket and fire it at the balloon. Of course, I have a tack sticking out to insure maximum popability.

Do you think the fire from the engine would ignite the cloud of gunpowder when the balloon pops?

I have rockets, balloons, and fireworks. I have to do something with them.
 
Well there is only one way to find out.

Send it!

And make sure to upload the video
 
800px-Cluster_Ballooning.jpg


Do it
Dooo it
Doooooo eeeeeeet!
 
As I am sure you know helium is an inert gas. It won't burn, let alone explode. Jim K's suggestion of using hydrogen will at least catch fire.

See the movies of the crash of the hydrogen containing Hindenburg zeppelin disaster in Lakehurst, NJ in 1937. It didn't explode; it burned. Oh the huge Manatee!

So if you can find a way to keep the gunpowder dispersed inside the balloon, you might get a sizable explosion. More likely it would all fall to the bottom of the balloon and, if your rocket's aim is good, burn merrily. I don't think you would get the desired blast.

-Skip
 
Propane and helium?
 
Mix hydrogen and oxygen carefully to fill the balloons. Add a couple of balloons with pure hydrogen to add lift. That should give you a nice kaboom when you hit it with the fireworks.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I know I know... This question again...

For reasons I won't explain, I have some really large balloons. I mean really large.
I think they inflate to 8 feet across.

Just to give you an idea of the inflated size, I'd say allegedly that if you put the deflated balloon in the cabin of a Grumman Traveler and used a leaf blower to inflate it, it would take up every square inch of the available room of that plane.

So anyway I have some of these left over from whatever it was reason that I bought them and I got to thinking as I am prone to doing.

Suppose I got me a helium tank and a bunch of gun powder (i.e. bust open some fireworks and spill a good dusting of the innards into the balloon and shake it around), then fill the balloon with helium and send it up tethered to some kite string.

Now I take a run of the mill model rocket and fire it at the balloon. Of course, I have a tack sticking out to insure maximum popability.

Do you think the fire from the engine would ignite the cloud of gunpowder when the balloon pops?

I have rockets, balloons, and fireworks. I have to do something with them.
Click to expand...

Fill said balloon with said gunpowder. Put in said Grumman Traveler. Fire said rocket at said Grumman. Tell insurance agent, "oh, those darn pranksters at POA are at it again." Collect insurance and buy a Skylane. You know you want to, don't fight it.
 
I doubt if the gunpowder ignited you'd even be able to tell from a distance. You will be at a distance, right? lol
 
luvflyin said:
Fill said balloon with said gunpowder. Put in said Grumman Traveler. Fire said rocket at said Grumman. Tell insurance agent, "oh, those darn pranksters at POA are at it again." Collect insurance and buy a Skylane. You know you want to, don't fight it.
Click to expand...

18USC 844(i)



(better idea to use water to commit insurance fraud)
 
Those balloons are pretty tough so if I were to do it, I would make sure the balloon is really full to ensure the tack armed missile will penetrate.
 
Maybe you should soak the rocket in gas overnight to improve the odds of the gunpowder catching a flame.
 
I think you should tether the ballon with ignition wires and use a rocket motor igniter to both blow the balloon and light the powder.
 
me thinks Bryan with a "y" has been hitting the helium......o_O

Ans:....No you couldn't hit it.....and No it wouldn't explode even if you got lucky. :cool:
 
So, like, the dumbest thing ever would be to get one of those weather balloons and inflate it to about 8 feet around, and sealing it with a lantern battery, a piece of PVC, and a lightbulb such that the entire "globe" is lit up brightly, then release it in the middle of Dallas, to climb to uncertain heights and create a potential hazard to aerial navigation.

It would be even dumber to do it three times in a row.

I never did that. But I saw it done.
 
aftCG said:
Or acetelyne. Helium is an inert gas so it's not going to do anything more than pop.
Click to expand...

I thought of acetylene as it would be easier to obtain in volume, but it's heavier than air.
 
Maybe try the first one on or near the ground? I suspect the rocket will boink off the balloon.
 
The balloons I use for high altitude have a rupture diameter of 27 to 40 feet.easy target. But this is meant for altitudes of 100,000 feet plus. To inflate these balloons with a lighter then air gas will take a lot or hold on to and when released will take off with a speed close to that rocked and likely out climb your rockets capability within 30 seconds.
 
Assume, for example, you wanted to hit something the size of a barn with an unguided model rocket. To have a reasonable chance of success, you would want to launch it inside the barn. One is lucky if the rocket remains within 20 degrees or so of the original orientation.

The U.S. Air Force experimented with the concept of unguided anti aircraft rockets back in the '50s using radar guided launch racks (the Loki rocket). After firing a few thousand rockets without a single hit on a the target, they decided it probably wasn't the bestest idea ever...
 
Too much testosterone in this thread...
 
ScottM said:
Helium (He) is a Noble Gas and is NOT, I repeat NOT FLAMMABLE!
Click to expand...
Right, it's not. But the gunpowder is, and contains its own oxygen supply (potassium nitrate or whatever they use in smokeless powder now). The helium is only to make the balloon fly.
 
coat with wet nitrogen triiodine
fill with hydrogen and a little 02 while still wet.

tie and allow to dry a long ways from you.

launch it.

I think your hardest challenge will be hitting it with anything. having two objects hit each other in the air is really difficult unless it's a "Banana" on the wrong frequency and a Cirrus both on 20 mile straight ins.
 
I have a poorly thought-out plan to send a GoPro and old iPhone into nearly kinda outer space, like 100,000 feetup. Even talked with the FAA about the plan. I just need a balloon and some helium. Less risk of explosions, but perhaps good B Roll for your videos.
 
Hydrogen and gun powder. Right before launch rub it on your head vigorously. It will help the gun powder cling to the sides of the ballon. ::just kidding::
 
Groundpounder said:
Be careful with static discharge. Balloons can build up static very easily, and that may give you a premature explosion
Click to expand...

I know this is true, because of a teenage incident with a large trash bag, acetylene, and oxygen. It took a week to recover my hearing.
 
Oh I can hit the balloon with a rocket. You know that little tube that the rocket slides onto the launch rod with that tube would be around the kite string and the kite string with guide it right up to the balloon
 
Oooooh, oooh, oooh, I got this...

Every Independence Day in the '70s, my brother and I would do our best to blow off a finger or at least lose our eyebrows. We made our own gunpowder from scratch and created things that are surely illegal now. ;)

The most fun we had was with things we called "Hydrogen Bombs." We grabbed an empty Dad's Root Beer glass gallon jug and put in a few inches of water mixed with Drano.

We'd roll up some aluminum foil into six inch long turds that fit into the bottle. We taped an exact length of fuse onto a large balloon and staged everything for a well coordinated process:

The timing is very critical and dropping the foil into the boiling jug has to be immediately followed with placing the balloon onto the mouth and filling it until the rapidly expanding gas begins to slow down. Then the balloon is quickly tied off and the fuse lit. If you take too long, the water vapor condenses and the balloon won't float away.

If all goes right, the now Hydrogen filled balloon rises fifty or so feet in the air and explodes in a huge orange fireball!

We eventually got sophisticated and put a condenser coil between the bottle and the balloon to remove the water vapor. That was done to avoid repeating that one time when the balloon rose up about ten feet and then dropped to ground level before it blew up on my friends front lawn. :eek2:

There were other crazy things we did with weather balloons and silver paint, but that's classified...
 
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