A helium balloon is tethered to the bottom of a plastic container, as seen in the photograph below.
Whenever anything accelerates there may be inertial or other forces that cause relative motion. For example, the inertia of the balloon may influence it to remain at rest when the container is moved. Or perhaps air currents may blow the balloon around, especially because it contains helium and is therefore lighter than the surrounding air. So here is the question.
When the container is given a sharp push to the right, what will the helium balloon do as the container is accelerating? In fact, the container will then slow down due to friction with the table top, so what will the balloon do as the container is decelerating?
When the container is accelerating to the right, the balloon will:
When the container decelerates to a stop, the balloon will:
Click here for Answer #71 after July 2, 2001.
