Many may be taking for granted the gas which fills our party balloons and causes those squeaky little voices we all know and love. Helium, a naturally occurring, odorless, colorless and tasteless gas, is the second most common element in the universe after hydrogen. Its abundance on Earth, however, is nil compared to its abundance beyond the planet’s atmosphere, and the rate at which we are burning through our stockpiles of the nonrenewable gas has become a growing concern. Helium is produced as a by product of nuclear decay from heavy metals such as uranium or thorium within the Earth. The radiation from these elements results in alpha particle emissions that become the nuclei of helium atoms. Most of the helium gas produced remains in pockets mixed with other natural gases, which can be harvested by mining, while some of the helium gas escapes into Earth’s atmosphere and further into space. The raw, extracted natural gas mixture containing many impurities, like helium, must be purified for commercial use. After purification, commercial helium is then obtained upon further refinement. The U. S. is the largest supplier of helium, and it has been stockpiling helium inside a National Helium Reserve outside of Amarillo, Texas since the 1960s. Once all the helium stores are depleted from the Earth, the gas can no longer be produced naturally. It is possible to create more helium, but the methods are extremely costly. Such possible but expensive options are fusing two hydrogen atoms together or bombarding other atoms with high-energy protons. The soil on the moon analyzed after the return of the astronauts from the Apollo mission contained an abundance of helium, which may point to the moon as a possible helium source for the future. Mining helium stores from the moon in order to replenish what has already been exhausted on Earth is preposterous, however, due to the volume that would need to be transported back to Earth. At the rate which helium is being consumed, scientists have growing concerns that the helium supply and reserves could be depleted within 30 years. With the ability to cool to -454 degrees Fahrenheit, helium is a very useful gas that allows researchers to study atoms when they are frozen in place and easy to observe. Other applications for helium are as a cooling mechanism in MRI machines, as an inert gas for welding, as an inert gas in the semiconductor industry and as leak detection for testing containers subjected to high pressure or low vacuum. Unlike other nonrenewable resources, such as petroleum, helium has no other alternatives. Therefore, new ways to decrease the amount of helium consumed are being enacted. Limiting wasteful use of helium and finding ways to recycle the gas will decrease the amount of helium used inefficiently. For example, in the semiconductor industry, re-circulation systems could be implemented,where they are not already, to catch the exhaust and re-compress helium. Other options include studying ways to more efficiently store and harvest helium as well as to sell at or above its market value.
-
Archives
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- June 2022
- January 2022
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
-
Meta