Helium vs. Pure Air.
What Happens to the Sound of a Person’s Voice
After Inhaling a Controlled Amount of Each?
HAWK
Grade 6
Introduction
In this assignment I have selected to explain what happens to the sound of someone’s voice after inhaling both Helium and pure air at separate times.
I have read through a few websites that explain when sound travels through helium it will change my voice. I was hoping to have fun, and I am looking forward to sharing this with my family and friends.
Hypothesis
My Hypothesis is that if you alter the density of the air (Or gas) a person breathes in then it will change the sound of their voice.
Will the sound of someone speaking sound different through Helium than it does through air after inhaling a controlled amount of each from a balloon at separate times?
I got this idea from the MythBusters Marathon. One episode I found very interesting. On the episode a section titled “Fun With Gas”, Adam Savage one of the shows hosts inhaled first helium and then spoke with a squeaky voice like Alvin and the Chipmunks. Next he inhaled a gas call Sulfur Hexafluoride and that made his voice sound low and deep like a monster. You can view this video on line too. Just go to MythBusters on Discovery and search the site for “Fun With Gas.”
I also learned a few safety tips while doing my research. A site called Go Ask Alice said that some people can get light headed or dizzy from inhaling helium so it’s a good idea to have my participants sit down while experimenting just in case so they don’t come crashing down to the floor.
My mother advised me was that it is unsafe to take inhale Helium directly from a Helium tank. Death may result and a person should never try to do that. She and I talked about using small amounts at different times to perform my experiment in order to be safe.
I learned on a search engine called Helium more interesting facts about Helium too. It is the second element on the periodic table after Hydrogen. High amounts of Helium can be found in stars. But on earth because this noble gas escapes from the earth’s atmosphere it only makes up for a very small amount of the earths atmosphere.
The gas fields of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas produces near 80% of the world’s supply of Helium while also extracting natural gas.
Procedure and Experiment
I performed my experiment of three different occasions. Each time I performed my experiment differently.
Experiment #1
April 17th, 2010
While at home me and my Dad both inhaled enough helium to fill our lungs and our sound waves from our voice traveled through the Helium much faster than air. The result was that our voices sounded higher. And our laughter grew as we sang silly songs with squeaky voices.
Experiment #2
May 8th, 2010
While at home along with four of my friends we tried the experiment again. This experiment was conducted in the middle of my living room in a chair because if one person got dizzy they would already be sitting down. We had all used one big balloon and each person took a turn of inhaling a small amount of Helium from the balloon. Each person’s voice sounded a lot higher in pitch because our sound waves traveled through the Helium much faster than air.
Experiment #3
May 15th, 2010
While at home I again performed the experiment using myself, my Dad, and my Mother as participants. For this experiment I used a more controlled method.
I used 2 different colored balloons. Blue to represent the air filled balloons filled with a hand pump. Red represented the Helium filled balloons filled form a helium tank. In order to control to amount each balloon was filled to be identical in size. Each were filled to be about 4” in diameter and then knotted at the end. Next I set up the area that included a chair and table to hold the bowl with the balloons and the scissors to cut the knots form the end of the balloons. The video camera readied and one at a time we conducted the experiment in this way:
1) I had to sit down then read “This is my voice to start with”
2) I then used scissors to cut the end of the balloon to inhale from the blue balloon (air filled).
3) I then repeated the sentence and my voice sounded like nothing changed.
4) I then used scissors to cut the end of the balloon to inhale from the red balloon (helium filled).
5) I then repeated the sentence and my voice sounded higher after inhaling the Helium.
6) I then had both my Dad and Mom repeat steps 1 through 5 each separately.
Results
My results after inhaling controlled and even uncontrolled amounts of Helium were that each time the person’s voice would sound different, in a higher pitch. It didn’t really matter that each time I performed my experiment I did it in different ways. First two experiments were more about the fun of inhaling Helium from balloons and hearing the funny results and the final more scientifically controlled experiment all proved my hypothesis to be correct. Through this project I learned that this is because Helium is six times less dense that air, allowing it to travel more easily through the vocal cords.
Conclusion
In conclusion I was interested in how our voice sounds higher after inhaling Helium and because I had never tried it, I thought it would be very for all the people that will see the results of helium vs. pure air. I now know that it is the density of the gas that causes a person’s voice to change. As a less dense gas than air it passes through the vocal cords differently then air, resulting in a different sound. I think of my results to be fascinating, because now I understand why a person’s voice gets “squeaky” and that’s just funny.
Bibliography
Discovery Communications, LLC “Fun With Gas.” August 7, 2008. The
Discovery Channel. April 25, 2010
“Inhaling helium - Just hilarious or a health threat?” Go Ask Alice, Health
Bowler, Alison. “Element facts: Where helium is found.” Helium. April 25,2010
And riding various equipment in the yard.
