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Showing posts from August, 2022

How to Create Your Own Foil Balloons

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Things You'll Need ● Craft paper ● Paper roll for pattern ● Scissors ● Thermoplastic foil ● Tape ● Permanent marker ● Iron ● Wax paper ● Hot knife or electric heat pencil ● Inflation pump ● Helium gas   Foil balloons are made using plastic sheets that have been metalized. The very first foil balloons were created by NASA for space missions. They used Mylar for their balloons. You can create your own  foil balloons  at home using thermoplastic foils. Nylon and polyethylene foils are thermoplastic. These foils can be sealed together using heat. The heat melts the plastic and then, upon cooling, the material solidifies into one layer instead of two. Avoid foils that are made of thermosetting materials as heat cannot melt them so you cannot create seams. Step 1 Cover the table with two layers of craft paper. This will protect the table from any damage. Step 2 Trace the balloon on a piece of paper. You can draw any shape that you want. Because balloons are three dimensional, the patter

Why do balloons oxidize?

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  Why do balloons oxidize? Not all balloons oxidize. Foil and vinyl balloons are less susceptible to this process. It's just a matter of  latex balloons . Most balloons you can buy at home and blow yourself up, as well as many inflatable balloons sold by retailers, are made from latex, a substance derived from rubber trees. As an organic material, latex degrades much faster than aluminum foil or vinyl. Latex balloons are sometimes even marketed as biodegradable, although they can take months or even years to fully decompose. (That's why releasing balloons into the air poses a threat to wildlife and the environment. Fish and other creatures often die from eating balloons that fall back to Earth;Biodegradable balloons can cause damage before they start to break down. ) But while decomposition takes a long time, latex balloons may begin to oxidize within hours of inflating. Oxidation is a chemical process that occurs when molecules lose electrons. What you need to know is that oxi