Helium  [ Return towards  Other gases  ]

Helium is the second most abundant element in the Universe, after Hydrogen. Every second, the Sun converts 700 million tons of Hydrogen into Helium. However, the Earth’s atmosphere contains very low quantities of Helium: 0.0005%.

Helium was discovered in 1868 by Jules Janssen.

More about the history of helium

Helium, a neutral gas, comes from the decay of heavy nuclei (uranium or radium), a process that occurs naturally inside the Earth’s crust. As a result, the Helium that is produced often gets trapped with natural gas inside layers of impermeable rock and must be extracted from these fields, which can contain up to 7% gaseous Helium.

It has the lowest liquefaction temperature of all elements. By gradually cooling a mix containing Helium, all the other components liquefy and only Helium remains in the gaseous state. This process through which it is extracted is called “fractional distillation”.

At normal temperature and pressure, Helium is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas. It is chemically inert, which means that it doesn’t react with any other element. For this reason, it can be used as a protective atmosphere in various industries.

Helium holds a number of records.

It is the lightest gas. Since it is 7 times lighter than air, it is often used to fill up balloons.

It has the lowest liquefaction temperature: - 269°C. The space and medical fields, for example, make the most of this property.

Helium molecule is the smallest in size. Since it can pass through extremely small openings, it is used to detect leaks.

More about the various applications of Helium

More about this gas: its physical-chemical properties