Very Random...

Could you pack something for shipping using bags/balloons of helium as filler in order to actually reduce the shipping weight since they're lighter than air? If you ship something that's actually bouyant in air, should the shipping company pay you (not that they would)?

Comments

  1. ajeyaJanuary 29, 2010 at 4:16 PM

    I Googled your query and stole this from one of the results: --Quote-- At "standard temperature and pressure" [0deg C at average atmospheric pressure at mean sea level] one mole of any gas will fill about 22.4 liters. One mole of air weights slightly over 28 grams. One mole of helium weighs about 4 grams. One mole of hydrogen weighs about 1 gram. Since one mole of helium weighs about 24 grams less than a mole of air, helium has "lift" of just over 1.06 gram per liter. Hydrogen, even though it weighs a quarter as much as helium, has a lift of 1.13 g/l--not much different. Even perfect vacuum (neglecting the weight of the container) only has a lift of 1.17g/l. To avoid paying extra for an overly-large package, length plus girth must not exceed 84". The largest-volume box that meets such a criterion is a 28"x14"x14" (71.12cm x 35.56cm x 35.56cm). Such a box would hold 89.9 liters of gas. Since helium has a lift of 1.06 g/l, the lift is thus 95.3 grams (3.36oz). Measurable, certainly, but not large enough to be worth bothering about. --/Quote-- I approve this very randomness. :D

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  2. marinredwolfJanuary 29, 2010 at 4:43 PM

    *laughs* Excellent!

    ReplyDelete

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