Most children have done it one time or another. They suck down the helium from a balloon and squeak out a song or random babbling. An adult usually breaks up the party. Typically, they say something like this,”That’s not good for you”. They never seem to tell the children why. Perhaps it is because no one really knows why.
This article is about “why”. It is about why the voice changes after inhaling helium. It is about why it may not be a good idea. It is the about the unanswered questions.
Speech is produced in the voice box. Air is forced through the voice box and causes our vocal chords to vibrate. The composition of the air we breathe has a specific molecular weight. The weight affects the speed of sound that passes over the cords and out for others to hear. We are used to hearing people speech at that particular level.
When helium is sucked into the lungs there is a change is the molecular weight. The weight of helium is much lower than the normal air we breathe. This changes the speed at which the vocal cords vibrate. The end results is a higher pitch for those who are listening to the voice.
The adults were right. Inhaling helium is not a good idea. Inhaling helium puts the body under stress. Although helium is nontoxic is does displace air. When someone breaths in helium it displaces the air in the lungs. When there is no air in the lungs, there rest of the body cannot get air either. This means that for a certain amount of time the body is receiving no oxygen. While this does not cause many issues for short period of time, it can lead to passing out. Passing out is a clear sign that the brain is not getting enough oxygen.
Sucking helium stored in a tank is deadly. Because the helium in the tank is stored under pressure, it moves with force into the lungs. The lungs could expand so quickly that they may burst.
So what can we conclude?
1. Inhaling helium once or even twice in a life time to do a Mickey Mouse impression will probably not cause an alarming harm. However, there is a limit. No one has really studied what the side effects for someone inhaling helium in an uncontrolled environment for long periods of time.
2. Inhaling helium changes the speed that air moves through the vocal chords and causes a high pitch sound to come out instead of the normal voice.
3. If you have already done it at least twice – you’re done.
