However, if you keep blowing air into a balloon until it bursts, it will divide into a multitude of fragments in what looks like a flower pattern. A pair of researchers decided they wanted to know more. They were inspired to explore the physics of balloon fragmentation after encountering a remarkable photograph of a balloon in the process of bursting. The photo was taken by Jacques Honvault, a French engineer and scientist who uses high-speed photography to observe phenomena that cannot be seen with the naked eye.
Moulinet teamed up with his colleague Mokhtar Adda-Bedia , a specialist in fracture science, to try to figure out what determined the distance between the cracks they observed in the photo. In particular, they wanted to understand the tipping point where a ballon goes from opening up along a single line to bursting into multiple strands.
To do this, they created an contraption that consisted of a metal frame with a two-inch hole in the center, a flat piece of latex, a pressure sensor, an air inlet tube, two high-speed cameras and an X-Acto blade. Moulinet and Adda-Bedia also secured two pairs of heavy-duty earmuffs — protection for their ear drums. To run the experiment, the researchers attached the latex behind the frame and turned on the air.
Within a few seconds, the latex would inflate just like a party balloon. They repeated their experiment about times. The study is described in Physical Review Letters. Close search menu Submit search Type to search. Topics Astronomy and space Atomic and molecular Biophysics and bioengineering Condensed matter Culture, history and society Environment and energy Instrumentation and measurement Materials Mathematics and computation Medical physics Optics and photonics Particle and nuclear Quantum.
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The balloon with the higher stress fractures into many different pieces. While that might seem like no more than a party trick, New Scientist reports that the researchers hope to apply their discovery to more brittle objects like glass and metal, to potentially create materials that are less likely to shatter when a sudden shock is applied. In the meantime, you can try the balloon experiment at home.
It's up to you to come up with more rock puns, though. However, here's another counter-point: A water balloon does not burst with the large pop we hear from a balloon blown up with air.
The photo implies that the bursting action is still supersonic, so where is the shock wave? I suspect that the sound produced has very much to do with the energy from the compressed air in the balloon, regardless of what the authors claimed in the first website. The water balloon does not store the energy, because the water is not compressible.
It may be another case of drawing the wrong conclusion from the experiment. Thanks much. It's just that is such an important question. I need to know the answer, so everything else in my life can fit into place. Am I crazy? I'm thinking that the water balloon doesn't break the sound barrier because the water retards the motion of the latex as it shrinks. With air on both sides of the latex, there would be far less resistance to its motion.
Just a thought - I haven't perused the websites to form an expert opinion. The 13 microsecond number quoted in the text indicates the balloon burst would be hypersonic. A multi-shockwave should be generated! Actually, I don't believe that number. I think they meant something else.
It's probably a mis-print, although this has been reprinted in many editions. It may belong in "bad science" website. Another website I was on had an. This video shows a balloon going from no burst in one frame to a six-inch my estimate rip in the next frame.
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