• doingthestuff@lemy.lol
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    13
    ·
    edit-2
    1 day ago

    Yeah I knew anything bigger than a squirrel would require something ridiculous. I’m thinking even a squirrel would set you back a bit given the scarcity and price of helium. The balloon is the cheap part.

    • lath@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 day ago

      Helium is portrayed as second most abundant element in the universe. Not scarce at all. Our ability to collect and make use of it, that’s scarce.

      A squirrel would probably need about 100 balloons.

      • BorgDrone@lemmy.one
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        21 hours ago

        Second most abundant doesn’t really convey how much more abundant it is compared to other elements.

        About 75% of all the mass in the universe is hydrogen, about 23% is helium, 1% oxygen, and that leaves just 1% for everything else.