The balloons from the kids’ birthday party often hang around for weeks.  But the helium balloon is often on the floor, largely deflated, by the next morning.

Balloons are made from very long stretchy molecules, whose structure is a tangled mass of strands, which twist around each other like spaghetti on a plate.  The long molecular strands cannot pack very tightly together, and have many channels through which the helium can diffuse. 

When the balloon is inflated, the molecules stretch.  The structure becomes more open as the walls become thinner, so molecules moving from inside the balloon travel a shorter distance through wider channels as they diffuse through the walls.

‘Helium quality’ balloons are made of much less porous material.  Although they may stay inflated for several days, they always deflate quicker than the same balloon filled with air.  Air is a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen molecules, which are much larger and heavier than helium atoms.  Small light atoms can diffuse through tiny pores in stretched rubber much more easily than larger heavier molecules.

However, helium balloons don’t completely deflate when helium atoms diffuse out of the balloon, because some air molecules also move into the balloon.  In fact, if we fill a balloon with something that has molecules bigger and heavier than nitrogen and oxygen, then air diffuses into the balloon, and it slowly inflates!

So next time you buy a helium balloon, prepare the kids for its early deflation.

MOVING BEYOND MATTER
by Christopher Shennan

Balloons are not the only things that tend to deflate.  People's hopes and dreams often do the same thing.

The deflated balloon has become a euphemism for disappointment and frustrated plans.  We had our hearts set on a promotion, but were bypassed by someone younger or with better connections.  The girl or guy we were interested in was attracted to someone else.  A trip overseas was cancelled.  We liken the feeling we get after such experiences to air or helium escaping from a balloon.

We also apply the image of a deflated balloon to someone who seems to be puffed up with pride; to people affected with their own self-importance or sense of their own self-importance.  We say: "I wish someone would prick his balloon."

Much of life is spent working to fulfill our dreams and objectives.  We all want to live lives that are worthwhile and satisfying.  In a manner of speaking we all work hard to prevent the air from leaking out of the balloon we call our personal lives.

According to science, all balloons deflate at some point.  The eventual escape of air is inevitable. I n the same way we cannot avoid life's disappointments altogether.  Like it or not, disappointments and broken dreams come to all of us.

The question is not, "Will I experience disappointment?" but "Will I have the inner resources to deal with disappointment and triumph over it?"  I have seen escaping air from a balloon used as a means of propelling toy cars, or as noisemakers sold for party activities.  And in life, it is much more important to develop the ability to turn disappointment into advantage, than trying to avoid them altogether.

True, it is not always easy to do this.  It often takes something of a spiritual nature to achieve this.  Perhaps it is time to spend as much effort on developing our spiritual side, as we do on our physical and financial side.