How Helium Balloon Changes Your Voice

Most people think that when the air from a helium balloon changes your voice it is hilarious because you may sound like Donald Duck. He is a funny character and his voice is different than what we hear every day. When you take helium into your mouth and begin to talk, it makes you sound like Donald Duck with his high-pitched voice. You generate sound by vibrating two small flaps of mucous membrane, called vocal folds. Donald Duck’s vocal cords are vibrating faster than normal people’s which makes his voice sound higher pitched.

To understand helium and how it changes your voice it is helpful to first know how sound waves travel. Your vocal cords are like a drum that vibrates when it is hit because of how they vibrate when air passes over them. The speed that the air travels across the vocal cords determines how fast your vocal cords will vibrate just like how hard or soft you hit a drum. Faster vibrations cause higher pitched sound and slower vibrations make lower pitched sounds.
However, when you stretch the balloon as the air is coming out faster, there is a fast vibration and makes a high-pitched screeching noise. A helium balloon floats because the helium is lighter and less dense than the air around us and a balloon that I blew up sinks. Sound travels faster in helium gas because it is less dense. Helium makes the vibrations of your vocal cords faster which makes the sound higher. That’s why breathing in helium makes you sound like Donald