A water balloon or water bomb is a balloon, often made of latex rubber, filled with water. Water balloons are used in a summer pastime of cooling off through water balloon fights. Water balloons are also popular for celebrations, including celebrating Holi and Carnival in India, Nepal, and several other countries. [1]
Water balloons are common in sizes from 40 and 100 mm or 1+1⁄2 and 4 in though larger sizes are available. Typically water balloons are sold in quantity and often include a filling nozzle in the packaging. Many of the low cost brands use small water balloons and generic nozzles which both tend to be difficult to use.
Another form of water bomb is a sheet of paper folded to form a container capable of holding water. [2] These are then filled and used in a similar way to latex versions.
Gas balloons (air or helium types) may be used as water balloons, but are not typically preferred because the balloon wall thickness is different. A water balloon is designed to be filled up to the approximate size of a baseball in a pear shape (so as to be thrown more easily), whereas some gas balloons, when filled with water, may reach the size of a basketball; this is disadvantageous because those balloons are harder to handle, usually requiring two hands. Mainly for safety reasons, water balloon walls are designed to be thick enough to be held without bursting yet thin enough to burst upon impact.
In a similar process to gas balloons, water balloons may be molded into various shapes at manufacturing. One process involves a patented mandrel for making elastomeric articles. [3]
Reusable water balloons are an alternative to the traditional single use balloons. These minimize environmental impact and clean up and tend to be easier and more efficient to fill. However, they are typically much more expensive then rubber balloons. There are a multitude of types, including magnetically locking spheres and absorbent fabric balls. [4]
Water balloons thrown by hand in person-to-person fights pose little risk of injury. There are, however, multiple accounts of injury to the eyes from water balloons launched by slingshot, which can increase the impact energy into the same range as a rifle bullet. [5] Injuries and property damage have also been reported when a balloon is thrown from or at a moving vehicle. [6] [7]
Water balloons are typically filled at an indoor faucet, an outside tap, or at the end of a garden hose. Multiple types of filling nozzles are available on the consumer market and come in threaded (3⁄4 in [1.9 cm] standard in the U.S.) and non-threaded types. Non-threaded nozzles are called filling funnels and may be difficult to use. Some brands of nozzles are called loader instead of nozzle, but no differentiation exists between other types of nozzles. Nozzles may include a valve feature for turning the water source on or off as needed.
Homemade water balloon filling stations may incorporate water balloon nozzles or valves that are on the market or use common plumbing fixtures. These stations may have one or more nozzles or valves. Portable and fixed station designs each have distinct pros and cons depending on the location of use, number of system users, and the quantity of filled water balloons needed. Multi-nozzle stations not only enable more water balloons to be filled for adults planning upcoming youth events or for preventing boredom in children upset with how challenging it may be to fill a balloon at a hose spigot, but greatly enhance group social interactions which is very important in toys for children and adult volunteers that work with children.
Multiple toy companies have created balloon tying and filling devices, enabling the user to easily fill and tie water balloons.
Water balloons, like air balloons, are generally made from latex, which naturally decomposes. [8] While there still could be some environmental impact if burst water balloons are left behind in the wild where animals might ingest them, that impact would be low. However, some air balloons are made from mylar, which does not decompose (or only extremely slowly). If mylar balloons are used as water bombs, then littering or leaving behind mylar balloons will have a much bigger environmental impact.
Yo-yo balloons, also known as Yo-yo Tsuris, are a common type of water balloon found at matsuri festivals in Japan. Typically small, round, and colourful, the balloons are filled to a diameter of about 75 mm (3 in) with air and roughly 45 mL (1.6 imp fl oz; 1.5 US fl oz) of water. [9] The balloon is clipped or tied closed and hung from an elastic string with a finger loop tied at the end. This gives them enough weight and bounce to function as a yo-yo, earning them their name. [10] [11] The balloons are often won in a game (Yo-yo Tsuri or just yo-yo [12] ) where they are set floating in a tub of water. Players "fish" for the balloons with a hook at the end of a twisted paper string. [13] As the wet paper line breaks easily, the game is often likened to goldfish scooping in terms of difficulty.
The Wii video game Ennichi no Tatsujin includes a virtual Yo-yo Tsuri game.
Guinness World Records maintains a record category for largest water balloon fight. The current holder is the University of Kentucky Christian Student Fellowship, a campus ministry of the Christian churches and churches of Christ.
| Location | Date | Number of participants | Number of balloons | Reports |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coogee, New South Wales, Australia | April, 2006 | 3,000 | 55,000 | Video of fight |
| University of Kentucky Christian Student Fellowship | August, 2008 | 2,744 | 58,000 | Video of fight |
| Brigham Young University | July, 2010 | 3,927 | 120,000 | Video of fight |
| University of Kentucky Christian Student Fellowship | August, 2011 | 8,957 | 175,141 | Video of fight |
| University of Kentucky Christian Student Fellowship | August, 2012 | 11,622 | 236,484 | Video of fight |
A fire sprinkler system is an active fire protection method, consisting of a water supply system providing adequate pressure and flowrate to a water distribution piping system, to which fire sprinklers are connected. Although initially used only in factories and large commercial buildings, systems for homes and small buildings are now available at a cost-effective price.
A fire hydrant, fireplug, or firecock (archaic) is a connection point by which firefighters can tap into a water supply. It is a component of active fire protection. Underground fire hydrants have been used in Europe and Asia since at least the 18th century. Above-ground pillar-type hydrants are a 19th-century invention.
A water gun is a type of toy gun designed to shoot jets of water. Similar to water balloons, the primary purpose of the toy is to soak another person in a recreational game such as water fight.
A hydrostatic test is a way in which pressure vessels such as pipelines, plumbing, gas cylinders, boilers and fuel tanks can be tested for strength and leaks. The test involves filling the vessel or pipe system with a liquid, usually water, which may be dyed to aid in visual leak detection, and pressurization of the vessel to the specified test pressure. Pressure tightness can be tested by shutting off the supply valve and observing whether there is a pressure loss. The location of a leak can be visually identified more easily if the water contains a colorant. Strength is usually tested by measuring permanent deformation of the container.
A diving cylinder or diving gas cylinder is a gas cylinder used to store and transport high pressure gas used in diving operations. This may be breathing gas used with a scuba set, in which case the cylinder may also be referred to as a scuba cylinder, scuba tank or diving tank. When used for an emergency gas supply for surface supplied diving or scuba, it may be referred to as a bailout cylinder or bailout bottle. It may also be used for surface-supplied diving or as decompression gas. A diving cylinder may also be used to supply inflation gas for a dry suit or buoyancy compensator. Cylinders provide gas to the diver through the demand valve of a diving regulator or the breathing loop of a diving rebreather.
A diving regulator or underwater diving regulator is a pressure regulator that controls the pressure of breathing gas for underwater diving. The most commonly recognised application is to reduce pressurized breathing gas to ambient pressure and deliver it to the diver, but there are also other types of gas pressure regulator used for diving applications. The gas may be air or one of a variety of specially blended breathing gases. The gas may be supplied from a scuba cylinder carried by the diver, in which case it is called a scuba regulator, or via a hose from a compressor or high-pressure storage cylinders at the surface in surface-supplied diving. A gas pressure regulator has one or more valves in series which reduce pressure from the source, and use the downstream pressure as feedback to control the delivered pressure, or the upstream pressure as feedback to prevent excessive flow rates, lowering the pressure at each stage.
A gas cylinder is a pressure vessel for storage and containment of gases at above atmospheric pressure. High-pressure gas cylinders are also called bottles. Inside the cylinder the stored contents may be in a state of compressed gas, vapor over liquid, supercritical fluid, or dissolved in a substrate material, depending on the physical characteristics of the contents. A typical gas cylinder design is elongated, standing upright on a flattened bottom end, with the valve and fitting at the top for connecting to the receiving apparatus.
This is a glossary of firefighting equipment.
An irrigation sprinkler is a device used to irrigate (water) agricultural crops, lawns, landscapes, golf courses, and other areas. They are also used for cooling and for the control of airborne dust. Sprinkler irrigation is the method of applying water in a controlled manner in way similar to rainfall. The water is distributed through a network that may consist of pumps, valves, pipes, and sprinklers.
A toy balloon or party balloon is a small balloon mostly used for decoration, advertising and as a toy. Toy balloons are usually made of rubber or aluminized plastic, and inflated with air or helium. They come in a great variety of sizes and shapes, but are most commonly 10 to 30 centimetres in diameter. Toy balloons are not considered to include "sky lanterns", although these too are or were used as child toys in some parts of the world.
A ceiling balloon also called a pilot balloon or pibal, is used by meteorologists to determine the height of the base of clouds above ground level during daylight hours. In the past, and sometimes today, a theodolite was used to track the balloon in order to determine the speed and direction of winds aloft. The principle behind the ceiling balloon is that timing of a balloon with a known ascent rate from its release until it disappears into the clouds can be used to calculate the height of the bottom of the clouds.
A garden hose, hosepipe, or simply hose is a flexible tube used to convey water. There are a number of common attachments available for the end of the hose, such as sprayers and sprinklers. Hoses are usually attached to a hose spigot or tap.
A Cornelius keg is a stainless steel canister (keg) originally used as containers by the soft drink industry. They can be used to store and dispense carbonated or nitrogenated liquids. Cornelius kegs were originally made by Cornelius, Inc.
A cascade filling system is a high-pressure gas cylinder storage system that is used for the refilling of smaller compressed gas cylinders. In some applications, each of the large cylinders is filled by a compressor, otherwise they may be filled remotely and replaced when the pressure is too low for effective transfer. The cascade system allows small cylinders to be filled without a compressor. In addition, a cascade system is useful as a reservoir to allow a low-capacity compressor to meet the demand of filling several small cylinders in close succession, with longer intermediate periods during which the storage cylinders can be recharged.
Air pressurized water (APW) extinguishers are a type of fire extinguisher that use ordinary water (H2O) to suppress fire. The water is propelled by ordinary air (atmosphere), pressurized in the extinguisher. They are also known by the slang term water can. Although only effective on Class A fires, they have the advantages of being inexpensive to build and maintain, and leaving no special chemical residue when used.
Oxy-fuel welding and oxy-fuel cutting are processes that use fuel gases and oxygen to weld or cut metals. French engineers Edmond Fouché and Charles Picard became the first to develop oxygen-acetylene welding in 1903. Pure oxygen, instead of air, is used to increase the flame temperature to allow localized melting of the workpiece material in a room environment. A common propane/air flame burns at about 2,250 K, a propane/oxygen flame burns at about 2,526 K, an oxyhydrogen flame burns at 3,073 K and an acetylene/oxygen flame burns at about 3,773 K.
A balloon is a flexible membrane that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, and air. For special tasks, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media, or light sources. Modern day balloons are made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or a nylon fabric, and can come in many different colors. Some early balloons were made of dried animal bladders, such as the pig bladder. Some balloons are used for decorative purposes or entertaining purposes, while others are used for practical purposes such as meteorology, medical treatment, military defense, or transportation. A balloon's properties, including its low density and low cost, have led to a wide range of applications.
Transportable pressure vessels for high-pressure gases are routinely inspected and tested as part of the manufacturing process. They are generally marked as evidence of passing the tests, either individually or as part of a batch, and certified as meeting the standard of manufacture by the authorised testing agency, making them legal for import and sale. When a cylinder is manufactured, its specification, including manufacturer, working pressure, test pressure, date of manufacture, capacity and weight are stamped on the cylinder.
A scuba cylinder valve or pillar valve is a high pressure manually operated screw-down shut off valve fitted to the neck of a scuba cylinder to control breathing gas flow to and from the pressure vessel and to provide a connection with the scuba regulator or filling whip. Cylinder valves are usually machined from brass and finished with a protective and decorative layer of chrome plating. A metal or plastic dip tube or valve snorkel screwed into the bottom of the valve extends into the cylinder to reduce the risk of liquid or particulate contaminants in the cylinder getting into the gas passages when the cylinder is inverted, and blocking or jamming the regulator.
The mechanism of diving regulators is the arrangement of components and function of gas pressure regulators used in the systems which supply breathing gases for underwater diving. Both free-flow and demand regulators use mechanical feedback of the downstream pressure to control the opening of a valve which controls gas flow from the upstream, high-pressure side, to the downstream, low-pressure side of each stage. Flow capacity must be sufficient to allow the downstream pressure to be maintained at maximum demand, and sensitivity must be appropriate to deliver maximum required flow rate with a small variation in downstream pressure, and for a large variation in supply pressure, without instability of flow. Open circuit scuba regulators must also deliver against a variable ambient pressure. They must be robust and reliable, as they are life-support equipment which must function in the relatively hostile seawater environment, and the human interface must be comfortable over periods of several hours.
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