Accurate Determination of the Volume of an Irregular Helium Balloon

Abstract

In a recent paper, Zable1 described an experiment with a near-spherical balloon filled with impure helium. Measuring the temperature and the pressure inside and outside the balloon, the lift of the balloon, and the mass of the balloon materials, he described how to use the ideal gas laws and Archimedes' principal to compute the average molecular mass and density of the impure helium. This experiment required that the volume of the near-spherical balloon be determined by some approach, such as measuring the girth. The accuracy of the experiment was largely determined by the balloon volume, which had a reported uncertainty of about 4%.