[thedoc (OP)]

Rosalyn asked the Naked Scientists:
   Are Mylar balloons and foil balloons the same?
What do you think?

[evan_au]

Those shiny helium balloons consist of a layer of plastic (the Mylar), coated with a very thin layer of Aluminium/Aluminum (the foil). So Mylar and foil are different parts of the same material.

Balloons are often decorated with some painted greeting (eg Happy Birthday) or pattern (eg Frozen). A similar material and process is often used for confectionary wrappers.

Unlike rubber balloons, the Mylar is pre-stretched, and is not very elastic. This allows the balloon to be filled at a lower pressure, which means it takes longer for the helium to leak out.
The metallic layer is visually attractive, and significantly reduces the loss of the helium through the plastic. The metallic coating is very thin, and much lighter than a balloon made entirely of aluminium foil, so it floats much better.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metallised_film

[sudjoy]

mylar balloons and foil balloons are completely different the real mylar balloon are made by a nylon like balloons while foil balloons has a aluminum on it the difference is foil balloon has a metal on it which is aluminum while mylar is completely plastic got the info from commercial ad removed they showed me the difference if you crease the foil balloons there are small particles coming from foil balloons that give it shine coat and that's aluminum

[caeltmp]

I feel, genuine Mylar balloons are made from transparent plastic that contains zero metal, whereas foil balloons do contain metal and have a shiny exterior appearance.

Regards,
Kevin J. Hodge

[Petrochemicals]

Unlike rubber balloons, the Mylar is pre-stretched, and is not very elastic. This allows the balloon to be filled at a lower pressure, which means it takes longer for the helium to leak out.

Filled at a lower pressure but surely once inflated the same equilibrium between interior and exterior is achieved. The mylar does go pop very easy.

[AllenLig]

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[Colin2B]

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[Le1o]

Foil is used to make the Mylar balloons shiny on the surface. Whereas, they are made up of plastic.

[Spam5-160920]

Mini balloons, latex and foil, can only be filled with air. They are too teeny tiny to take enough helium to make them float. They are an air only situation.