California to Ban Helium Balloons ?

[n2ize]

California legislators are considering banning helium balloons.Yes, the kind you might use at your kids birthday party. This would apparently not affect the rubber type balloons. Rather it would affect the shiny mylar type balloons which they claim cause too many accidental power outages.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdtRDpWUwTY

[KD6NIG]

Came out a few weeks ago. I don't think it gained the needed traction it needed, because I didn't hear about it after that, but who knows. Some of these kind of things fester and then get suddenly passed.

I think maybe mandating a bigger weight, maybe a large safety tag on them would be a better move, but thats just me.

[KI6DKC]

I thought the Condors were responsible for the power outages. Are they in cahoots with the balloons? Is it part of a conspiracy?

[K4JSR]

Simply fill the mylar balloons with Hydrogen.
Any contact with a high tension line would be over in a *FLASH*!!! :D

[K8ERV]

Or fill it with methane, much easier to come by, and organic too---

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

[N4VGB]

I thought all the balloons in CA were filled with either saline or silicone? :eek:

[W1GUH]

Those mylar balloons can get nasty. I had one up against the wall of my offi....cubicle. It eventually decposed into a sticky mass on the wall.

Methinks we'e be better off without them anyway. I think they're ugly.

[kn4ds]

Or fill it with methane, much easier to come by, and organic too---
Because everybody knows that hydrogen doesn't occur naturally.

[n2ize]

Those mylar balloons can get nasty. I had one up against the wall of my offi....cubicle. It eventually decposed into a sticky mass on the wall.

Methinks we'e be better off without them anyway. I think they're ugly.

I don't think they are ugly. However, they are probably not as environmentally friendly as the old fashioned rubber ones. Then again, there are probably bigger threats to the environment than balloons.

[K8ERV]

I thought all the balloons in CA were filled with either saline or silicone? :eek:

But then they need the lift that hydrogen gives them!

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

[W4HAY]

Because everybody knows that hydrogen doesn't occur naturally.
Well, there went the Big Bang Theory!

[n7wr]

They need to standardize with hot air balloons which they can easily fill any time by visiting the California State Legislature.

[kf6rdn]

They need to standardize with hot air balloons which they can easily fill any time by visiting the California State Legislature.


Shhhh!!! Not too loud please... people might realize the TRUE source of global warming!
:p

[K3UD]

They need to standardize with hot air balloons which they can easily fill any time by visiting the California State Legislature.

Guess what..... there appears to be a worldwide helium shortage in the making

http://www.gasworld.com/news.php?a=2684;la=1

I can see the price run up happening shortly.


73
George
K3UD

[n2ize]

Simply fill the mylar balloons with Hydrogen.
Any contact with a high tension line would be over in a *FLASH*!!! :D

Don't laugh. in some countries they allow decorative party balloons to be filled with hydrogen. I remember hearing about an accident in Brazil (I think it was Brazil).A cluster of hydrogen filled party balloons caught fire and exploded at a stadium seriouslyburning several people. And I think I heard of a similar incident in China recently.

[N4VGB]

Don't laugh. in some countries they allow decorative party balloons to be filled with hydrogen. I remember hearing about an accident in Brazil (I think it was Brazil).A cluster of hydrogen filled party balloons caught fire and exploded at a stadium seriouslyburning several people. And I think I heard of a similar incident in China recently.



That's why I encourage all the "tree huggers" to jump on the hydrogen fuel cell idea! Very dangerous stuff and very hard to contain with zero leakage. Let the "tree huggers" be sacrificed in the initial experiment on hydrogen as an auto fuel. There's no way I'll ever put a vehicle tanked up on hydrogen in my garage. :D

[n2ize]

http://www.bullnet.co.uk/shops/test/hydrogen.htm

When mixed with air in the right proportions, the vapor of one cup of gasoline has the explosive power of about five pounds of dynamite, enough destructive force to destroy any house or car.

http://www.cdc.gov/nasd/docs/d000701-d000800/d000760/d000760.html

[N4VGB]

[COLOR=Red][B]When mixed with air in the right proportions, the vapor of [SIZE=7]one cup of gasoline has the explosive power of about five pounds of dynamite, enough destructive force to destroy any house or car.


That certainly was a waste of effort and red pixels. I'm fully aware of all info, long experienced in gasoline and exotic racing fuels also. Big boom for race engines very good! Nitromethane is the best bang for internal combustion engines. The great thing about all of them is their pungent aroma. :)

Unless an additive is put into hydrogen, no smell. BIG KABOOM with absolutely no warning of a problem in advance. ;)

Oblivious tree huggers with hydrogen? bye-bye! :eek:

[NC5P]

I used to work for a power company and it is a problem. I don't think hydrogen would make much difference, the arc flash from the 13kV or so is plenty enough bang on its own.

[KC2PBJ]

California legislators are considering banning helium balloons.Yes, the kind you might use at your kids birthday party. This would apparently not affect the rubber type balloons. Rather it would affect the shiny mylar type balloons which they claim cause too many accidental power outages.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdtRDpWUwTY

Next we'll be outlawing hot air over Washington DC. Now if we could harness all of this congressional updraft, they would finally produce something of some substantive value.

[AD5WY]

Someone mentioned using methane as a replacement for helium... I might be wrong, but methane isn't a lighter-than-air gas - at least not significantly.

Someone mentioned that helium "does not occur naturally". It DOES occur naturally, it's just produced very slowly. On earth, it is a byproduct of radioactive decay. Most (all?) of the earth's supply of helium was emitted by pitchblend and related ores. Usually fairly large quantities build up on top of some oil domes, but there is very little infrastructure for harvesting it.

If I'm not mistaken, helium is the ONLY (significantly) lighter than air gas that is *INERT* (as opposed to reactive substances such as hydrogen, oxygen). It has critical uses in industry, medicine, high-tech stuff. The helium shortage is of real concern.

The biggest reserve for helium is in here in my home state - Texas - there has been some local news about it. If something isn't done, they expect that the reserve supply could be exhausted in as little as *eight years* from now.

So - from a certain point of view, party balloons and facilititating Donald Duck impersonations are an irresponsible use of helium. We WILL run out of it soon.

Personally, I hope that hydrogen cell cars are properly developed and put on the market. No, I'm not a 'tree-hugger' per se. But face it - hydrogen is *CLEAN* - AND relatively easy to produce.

[KC2PBJ]

California legislators are considering banning helium balloons.Yes, the kind you might use at your kids birthday party. This would apparently not affect the rubber type balloons. Rather it would affect the shiny mylar type balloons which they claim cause too many accidental power outages.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdtRDpWUwTY



I'd rather see then ban Berkely. They hate America anyway.