How to Fill a Basketball With Helium

If you are interested in experimenting on how ahelium compares to regular air, try an experiment filling an ordinary basketball with helium. Lighter than oxygen and nitrogen, helium, theoretically, would cause the basketball to be more buoyant. In actuality, the small difference in mass between oxygen and helium is unlikely to make a difference in terms of the distance a ball will travel or how high it will bounce. You can fill a basketball with helium to test this idea with the help of a helium canister and an adapter.

Things You'll Need

  • Helium canister
  • Pump to needle adapter
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Instructions

    • 1

      Open the main cylinder valve on your gas canister by turning the “Stop” control counterclockwise. This might be different on the specific gas canister you have. If so, follow the directions you received with the canister. Start the flow of air into the main.

    • 2

      Attach your adapter to the nozzle. Find an adapter that has a needle attachment on one side and a suitably sized opposite end that will fit onto your gas canister’s nozzle. Push the larger end of the adapter into the end of the nozzle of your gas canister. The gas that is released from the canister will now be directed through the needle, which means you can use it to pump up the basketball.

    • 3

      Push the needle into the small hole in the basketball. The inflation hole on basketballs is normally located in the center of a small rubber circle found on one of the lines on the basketball. Push the needle through the hole so that the air will be pumped directly into your ball.

    • 4

      Use your thumb to tilt the nozzle of the canister downwards and start the air flow. The ball will slowly begin to fill with helium. Hold the nozzle in position to keep the flow of helium going into the ball. Wait for the ball to be filled to a sufficient level. If you are experimenting to determine the difference between filling a ball with helium and filling one with air, it is important to fill the two balls to an equal level.

    • 5

      Move the nozzle back into a horizontal position to stop the flow of air. If you are not going to need the canister again, you can turn the “Stop” control clockwise to stop the air from going up to the nozzle. Remove the needle from inside the ball.