A balloon-carried light effect is a

special effect Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...

carried by a

balloon A balloon is a flexible bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, and air. For special tasks, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), or light so ...

, which can be fixed with a rope to the ground or free-flying. They are commonly misidentified as "

Unidentified Flying Object An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

s" by members of public.

Uses

Balloon-carried light effects can be used without safety concerns at events with a lot of people, because unlike

fireworks Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...

they do not require the use of flammable substances. The brightness is much lower, when non-dangerous light sources such as

lightstick A glow stick, also known as a light stick, chem light, light wand, light rod, and rave light, is a self-contained, short-term light-source. It consists of a translucent plastic tube containing isolated substances that, when combined, make light ...

s or battery-powered lamps are used. Balloon-carried light effects cannot replace fireworks, but supplement them, because of their long lighting time (if lightsticks or battery powered lamps are used) and because of their inherent safety. To realise a balloon-carried light effect, one or more balloons are used, capable of carrying a lightstick or a small battery powered lamp. Further it is possible to insert one or two small

s into a transparent balloon. It is also possible for larger balloon-carried light effects to use tethered balloons, which also can contain an

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

cable power supply: these 'artificial moons' may be used for

floodlight A floodlight is a broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial light. They are often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions. More focused kinds are often used as a stage ...

ing.

Open-air concert use

Balloon-carried light effects are sometimes used on open-air concerts and similar events. For film and event use, balloons are offered as suspended air-filled or tethered floating helium-filled. The latter for outdoors uses a 2-meter diameter balloon and 4 1000 Watt halogen tungsten lights inside, rising up about 10 m and withstanding only calm winds. Other uses included fixed or pole balloons, spread like an umbrella, the upper half reflective coated, the lower half semi-opaque, light construction sites on highways, or accident sites in case of emergency. Balloons (entertainment) {{fluiddynamics-stub