Helium

Helium

Statistics of Element:

Helium is a Chemical Element with an 
Atomic Number :2  
Atomic Mass: 4.002602.
Atomic Symbol: He
Melting Point:-272.2 °C
Boiling Point:-268.9 °C

Valence Electrons: 8
Phase of Helium at room temperature: Gas
Group:Noble Gases
Group Number: 18
Period Number: 1    
Density: 0.0001785 grams per cubic centimeter

Isotopes: Helium-3 (3He) & Helium-4 (4He)

Allotropes: None

% in Universe: 23%

% in Earth's Crust: 0.00000055%

% in Humans: None

% in Ocean: 7.2 x 10 to the negative 10%

% in Sun: 23%

% in Meteorites: None

Helium is named for the Greek God of the Sun, Helios. It was first detected as an unknown yellow Spectral Line signature in sunlight during a solar eclipse in 1868 by French astronomer Jules Janssen.

The position of Helium in the periodic is shown the link below. Helium place on The Periodic Table

Importance of Helium:

People may ask, What's the importance of Helium in daily life. 

I would say that Helium can be used for breathing observation. It is essential in treating ailments asthma, emphysema and other conditions that affect breathing. The gas is usually used to treat diseases that affect the lungs. Hospital MRI scans relies on liquefied helium. When the element is set at -269 C (the low boiling point), it becomes usable in MRI magnet cooling down.

Bad Effects of Helium:

People might think breathing Helium is fun, but do you know dangers of doing that too much?

Huffing helium can cut off oxygen supply or can cause an embolism if a person inhales too deeply. In addition, pressurized tank gas can cause lungs to rupture.

Experiment:

Want to see a cool experiment on Helium? Click the Url Link to see the cool experiment.Helium Experiments.

Wasn't that awesome? The balloon explodes when in contact with fire but shrinks when in contact with liquid nitrogen which is very cold.

How Helium is used and The History of Helium:

Helium is used to make Helium Balloons which float. Helium is non-flammable and is a good replacement for Hydrogen Balloons as they would be safer.

Too much Helium was inhaled by a girl during a party that she died because the helium blocked the Oxygen from her brain.

Interesting facts about Helium

1. Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe.

2. In 1928 helium became available for the first time on the open market.

3. Helium is so light that Earth’s gravity is not strong enough to hold on to it. When helium atoms are released into the atmosphere, they rise until they escape into space.

4. Helium is one of only two natural elements that has never been observed bonding to another element in a compound. The other element is neon. Helium plasma can, however, form temporary excimer molecules with elements including sodium, fluorine and sulfur.

5. At temperatures close to absolute zero, helium condenses to a liquid with amazing properties – the properties of a superfluid, flowing with zero friction up and over the walls of containers.

6. At normal atmospheric pressure, helium does not solidify. At 25 atmospheres of pressure, helium is a solid at 0.95 K. As the pressure rises, the temperature at which solid helium exists also rises. Helium can be made solid at room temperature if the pressure rises to about 114 thousand atmospheres: that is a pressure of 1.67 million psi, or 834 tons per square inch. This is over 100 times greater than the pressure at the oceans’ deepest point, the Challenger Deep, which is almost seven miles deep (10 916 meters).

7. Helium exists in Earth’s atmosphere only because it is constantly resupplied from two sources – decay of radioactive elements on Earth, and cosmic rays, about 9% of which are high energy helium nuclei.

8. The helium we buy in cylinders is produced by the natural radioactive decay of radioactive elements in the earth’s crust – principally thorium and uranium.

9. Radioactive decay of uranium and thorium produces about 3000 metric tons of helium a year.

10. Current world production of helium is over 30 000 metric tons a year. (Helium has been accumulating for many millions of years in a few natural gas fields, therefore we can currently extract more each year than is being created by uranium and thorium decay.)

11. Helium was discovered in the Sun’s atmosphere before it was found on Earth.

Catch up with my next post on the 3rd element, Lithium