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Ben Blair

Mrs. Stevens

Life Science

31 January 2018

How Does the Time Of Day Affect the Rate of Speed a Solar Balloon Rises?

You can make things float without helium? If you can harness the sun’s energy, you can make

specific things float (Bailes). I bought a solar balloon. It is very cool. When it is inflate it and tie

both ends together, it starts to float. There is almost no limit to how high it is if the sun is

shining on it. I first discovered what a solar balloon was during the end of 2017. I saw a

YouTube video of people making a giant solar balloon and attaching a camera onto it. I started

thinking of how it worked. I was thinking of how high it would go, what temperature it was, etc.

I also thought, “​how does the time of day affect the rate of speed of a solar balloon?” ​I

hypothesized that, ​“if the solar balloon would float during 1:00 pm, it would rise the fastest.”

What Is a Solar Balloon and How Does It Work?

A solar balloon is a balloon that rises by the sun. The sun makes the air expand inside of

it and it begins to float because it starts to get hot (Assam). Solar balloon are usually black. They

are usually black because the color black absorbs the most heat. Solar balloons usually costs

about five to ten dollars. It is simple to use a solar balloon. You first need to inflate it by running

with it or letting the wind blow into it. You also need to tie a knot and a string onto the end of it.

The best time to use it is at nine through eleven in the afternoon. That is the best time because

there is barely any wind and more sunlight. Did you know that some solar balloons cost up to

eight-hundred dollars, and professional photographers use them to take photos and videos? Solar
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balloons are very fascinating.

Why and How Does Heat Rise?

Hot air is lighter than cold air. This is all done in a molecular form. Hot air is lighter than

cold air because density relies on temperature. Cold air is denser than hot air because the colder

it is, the closer the molecules are, and the hotter it is, the farther the molecules are. Heat can

move up and down. It can also move sideways (Bailes). It is very fun the experiment with cold

air and hot air.

How and Why Does Heat Expand?

Heat expands because of the temperature. If something is heated, kinetic energy

of the material increases. This happens because the hotter the material gets, the faster the atoms

and molecules move. Because of the movement, atoms will take up more space. They move at

very fast speeds. When the atoms are separated from each other, gas will expand. Did you know

that different objects expand differently (Assam)? Brass expands more than iron because brass is

weaker and iron is much stronger. Without temperature, heat can’t expand.

Why Does The Color Black Absorb The Most Heat?

The color black absorbs the most heat (Glover). It absorbs the most heat because

black absorbs the most light. The darker the color, the more heat is will absorb, and the lighter

the color the more light it will reflect. This means that if something is white, almost all of the

photons will be reflected. A photon is a particle of light. Did you know that violet light has more

energy than red light? Light is very interesting.

What time of the day has the hottest temperature? Why?

Around three o’clock in the afternoon is about the hottest temperature(Almanac). It is the
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hottest temperature at this time because heat builds up in the afternoon. Sometimes the hottest

time of the day starts earlier because of weather. The lower the sun, the more the heat. The

hottest time of the day can also be noon because clouds could come in. Three o’clock is very hot.

How Do You Accurately Measure The Speed At Which a Solar Balloon Rises?

To measure the speed of a solar balloon, you would need a timer and a string to measure

the solar balloon. You need to measure the string in meters. You first tie the string to the solar

balloon and just wait. You need to time the solar balloon until the string is fully extended in the

air, then you stop the timer. After that you divide the distance by the speed (GCSE).It is very

simple.

I hypothesized that, “​if the solar balloon would float during 1:00 pm, it would rise the

fastest.”​ I did the calculations and my hypothesis is true, the balloon only floated in the morning

two times. It took 3:40 minutes to float and 4:37 minutes to float. The average of the speed it

took to get to the highest point of the string is 4:28 minutes. During the night, it did not float at

all. During the afternoon, I got an average of 1:45 minutes. When I set up the solar balloon

outside in the afternoon, it floated the most (Coolidge).

Works Cited
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Almanac, Old Farmer's. “What Is the Hottest Time of Day? 3 P.M., or Noon?” Old Farmer's

Almanac, ​www.almanac.com/fact/what-is-the-hottest-time-of-dayr​.

Assam, Sara AI. “Expansion and Contraction.” Physlink.com, Marcus McKean,

www4.hcmut.edu.vn/~huynhqlinh/olympicvl/tailieu/physlink_askexpert/ae40.cfm.htm.

Bailes, Allison. “Heat Rises...and Falls - Stack Effect, Air Movement, & Heat Flow.” Energy

Vanguard, 30 Jan. 2012,

www.energyvanguard.com/blog/50616/Heat-Rises-and-Falls-Stack-Effect-Air-Movemen

t-Heat-Flow​.

Coolidge, Matthew. “Solar Hot Air Balloons.” Ź Public Lab: Solar Hot Air Balloons, Matthew,

30 May 2012, 02:57, publiclab.org/notes/mathew/5-29-2012/solar-hot-air-balloons.

“GCSE Physics - Speed, Velocity and Acceleration - Revision 1.” BBC Bitesize, BBC, 2017,

www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/z3bqtfr/revision​.

Glover, David. Flying and Floating. Kingfisher, 2001

“ Why Do Black Objects Absorb More Heat (Light) than Lighter Colored Objects? What Do

Wavelengths Have to Do with It?” UCSB Science Line, 18 Mar. 2013,

scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=3873.