Helium balloon physics experiment

Extra credit experiment for physics lab. When accelerating in a car the force of acceleration pushes you back into the seat. When braking, we feel the force on our backs and get pushed forward (this is why we have air bags). However, the balloon acts in the opposite way our bodies do. The balloon is forced forward during acceleration and backward during braking. If our bodies reacted the same way as the helium balloon then we would need air bags for hard acceleration, not braking. Furthermore, collisions or a hard stop would sink us back into our seat and not put our face in the dash board (wouldn't that be nice?). Imagine a temporary gravitational field in your car. When you accelerate the air inside the car gets pushed towards the rear, the helium balloon tries to move toward the area of the car with less air density (the front). The helium balloon moves toward less air density during braking and turning as well.

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