Why, after inhaling helium, a person begins to talk in a funny voice

Many tried to inhale helium from balloons and talk in an unusual, funny voice or watched how friends do it. The human voice at the same time becomes higher, thinner and resembles a child's. Why does helium affect the voice in such a way, and are there substances that have the opposite effect?

Helium balloons are sold at any festive paraphernalia store. They are lighter than balloons inflated with ordinary air, and if they are released, they will fly high into the sky. But if you untie the rope and inhale helium into the lungs, then when you exhale you get a very funny voice.

Sounds made by a person arise as a result of vibration of the vocal cords. Our bundles vibrate elastically in air, whose density at about 20 degrees is about 1.2 kg / m³. Helium is an inert gas without color and odor, the density of which is several times lower than that of air. At the same temperature, the density of helium is only 0.18 kg / m³. A gas that is less dense than air does not show sufficient resistance, the vocal cords vibrate at a higher frequency and the voice becomes higher.

But such a wonderful effect, as it turned out, is not observed in all people. In some women, who naturally have a high voice, inhaling helium changes almost nothing.

The question naturally arises, is it not harmful to have fun in this way? Of course, breathing helium is unnatural for a person. The gas itself is chemically inert, that is, under ordinary conditions, it does not enter into chemical reactions with surrounding substances and does not form stable compounds. This is the basis for the opinion that inhaling helium is harmless entertainment. But breathing this gas is safe only in small quantities. Prolonged inhalation of helium instead of regular air will cause the body to begin to lack oxygen, which may not end as fun as it started.

But after inhaling another gas - sulfur fluoride - you can observe the opposite effect. This gas is very dense, 5 times denser than ordinary air. When it is inhaled, the vocal cords vibrate at a lower frequency, and the voice becomes low and coarse, even among young girls who have a naturally high voice.