"Chilling Consequences: How the Polar Vortex Impacts Balloon Artists"
The recent polar vortex has caused frigid temperatures across the US, affecting various objects including football helmets. This extreme cold provides an opportunity to demonstrate the ideal gas law, which explains the relationship between temperature, volume, and pressure of a gas in a closed container. By modeling a gas as a collection of discrete particles, it's possible to show how temperature changes can cause a balloon to shrink, as slower-moving particles result in fewer collisions with the balloon's walls and lower impact force, leading to a decrease in volume.