When you push up on a balloon (or compress it), you decrease its volume, which causes the pressure inside the balloon to increase. This is because the gas inside is confined to a smaller space, so the air molecules collide more frequently with the balloon's inner surface, raising the internal pressure
. The balloon's elastic material also resists deformation, so as you push, the elastic tension increases, contributing to the higher internal pressure needed to maintain the balloon's shape against the compressive force
. In summary:
- Pushing up on the balloon reduces its volume.
- Reduced volume leads to increased internal air pressure.
- The elastic force of the balloon material also increases, opposing the compression.
- The pressure inside the balloon becomes greater than the outside atmospheric pressure until equilibrium is reached or the balloon is released
This is consistent with the general physics of gases and elasticity in balloons, where squeezing a balloon raises its internal pressure due to volume reduction and elastic tension increase.
