Would a helium balloon be more affected by forces such as a gust of wind if the surface area was smaller?

Question

Would a helium balloon be more affected by forces such as a gust of wind if the surface area was smaller?

i.e. Would a smaller balloon be carried away with the wind more so than a balloon with a larger surface area if both balloons were raising and the same rate (same percentage of helium per weight of balloon).

Or would the weight of the helium balloon have an effect on being carried off with the wind?

Answer 1

I agree with Kaksi and - to some degree - the answer is, yes.

I fly an ultralight aircraft in a class that requires a wing load less than 20 kilos per square meter. That is in order to guarantee a low stall speed and a safe emergency landing.

But being that light, I feel much more the turbulence than a heavier aircraft. The same can be seen e.g. with a a small vessel rolling in the swell while a larger one is not affected. The inertia of the 'big ones' smooths the ride.

But, in a steady wind, any balloon of any size moves at exactly the speed of the wind. It is interesting to see old illustrations from the past centuries where balloons were depicted flying ... flags! On any balloon, a flag hangs down, of course.

Answer 2

♣force on balloon is proportional to R^2, where R is radius of balloon;

mass of balloon is proportional to R^3;

according to Newton’s II law F=m*a, hence acceleration a ~ 1/R;

♦comclusion: 1)if the wind is steady any balloon will sail smoothly with the speed of wind eventually, the bigger balloon the later it will gain this speed; 2)if a gust occurs the smaller balloon will be affected more by the gust, that is deflecting more from steadiness;