If someone blew up a balloon, and released it into space, what

[raccoon]

would happen to the balloon?

I mean a regular balloon like you have at birthday parties.

[Wounded Bear]

1. It would most likely explode.....

Not enough material of a strength to handle the expansion.

[liberal N proud]

2. From yahoo answers

Realistically the rubbery membrane will probably shatter as it instantly freezes and becomes to rigid and inflexible to confine and then compress the air inside.

If the rubber were made so it remained rubbery despite the cold then the balloon would start to expand once remove from the the space ship and its air pressure. When you let it go it will do what it does on the earth, but more so because the difference in pressure between the inside and outside of the balloon is greater.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091105152218AAkUhNH

[longship]

3. No way does it get to space.

A weather balloon is way under filled so it can expand when it gets high in the atmosphere where air pressure is low. Eventually the ballon expands to a point where it bursts and then falls back to the ground.

[Lint Head]

4. It would release air, flap around and someone would ask? Which astronaut just farted?

[ladjf]

5. If you mean, what would happen if a regular toy balloon went from atmospheric pressure

to an almost total vacuum, it would explode instantly. In reality, it would have to be placed into a pressure chamber that is around 14.7 psi and then have the air pumped out.
But, long before it reached 0 psi, the balloon would have already exploded.

[Warpy]

6. It would pop before it reached the stratosphere.

[Gruenemann]

7. Early U.S. Satellite was a big balloon

Echo I was a big reflective balloon that radio signals could bounce off: http://launiusr.wordpress.com/2010/08/16/beginning-the-age-of-satellite-communication-echo-1-august-1960/

[hunter]

8. Well, you'd have to have in airlock.

When you started pumping the air out of the airlock it would do this:

Get bigger and bigger.

If there was too much air in the balloon it would burst.

I'm not sure the temperature would be an immediate issue.

[NickB79]

10. Hey look, a giant penis pump! nt

[sakabatou]

9. Rip apart due to it's inside air pressure greater than the outside air pressure