You work for a balloon delivery service and you are delivering a single, helium-filled balloon in your car. To prevent the balloon from bouncing around on the ceiling while you are driving you have tied a string with a weight on it to the balloon. The weight is resting on the floor and the balloon is floating just below the ceiling.

When you accelerate, does the balloon stay where it is, move backward, or move forward? What does it do when you make a turn?

Assume all the windows are closed and the vents are turned off so there is no air flow inside the car to affect the balloon.

(In reply to No Subject by Jason Taylor)

Actually, the balloon's weight will continue to rest on the floor and will not pull the balloon, even after the car stops accelerating.  Therefore, the solution is correct. 

A less correct setup of the problem would state that roof of the car is flat and that there is no added weight.  The form af the balloon, the magnitude of the acceleration,... would influence the answer considerably.

Posted by Hugo on 2005-07-29 18:20:17