Helium is a chemical element, inert gas of Group 18 (noble gases) of the periodic table. It is the second most abundant element in the universe after hydrogen. It is a colourless, odourless, and tasteless gas that becomes liquid at very low temperatures.
Helium is the most stable element; it will not burn or react with other elements2. Helium has the lowest melting and boiling points of any known substance.
The second lightest element, helium is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that becomes liquid at -268.9 degrees Celsius.
Helium is a chemical element with the symbol He and the atomic number. It is the second simplest of the chemical elements, after hydrogen. Its atoms consist of two protons, two neutrons, and two electrons.
Helium was discovered in 1868 by French astronomer Jules Janssen during a solar eclipse. It was later found in natural gas deposits in the United States and Canada. Today, helium is produced commercially by the fractional distillation of natural gas.
August 18, 1868: French astronomer Pierre Janssen observed a bright yellow line with a wavelength of 587.49 nanometers in the spectrum of the Sun’s chromosphere during a total solar eclipse in Guntur, India. This was the first evidence of helium.
Joseph Norman Lockyer, an English astronomer, also observed a yellow line in the solar spectrum that did not correspond to known sodium lines. He named it the D3 line and concluded it was caused by an unknown element in the Sun. Lockyer used the Greek word for sun, hēlios, to name the element.
In 1895, British chemist Sir William Ramsay discovered helium on Earth by analyzing the gas produced from heating uranium-bearing mineral cleveite. The unique bright yellow line in its spectrum matched that of the D3 line observed in the Sun, confirming the existence of helium. Helium’s unique properties make it essential for various scientific and industrial applications.
Helium is a valuable resource that is used in a variety of important applications. As the demand for helium increases, it is important to find ways to conserve this resource and to develop new sources of helium.
Helium is the second lightest and second most abundant element in the universe, after hydrogen. It is a colorless, odorless, non-flammable, non-toxic, inert gas that heads Group 18 (noble gases) of the periodic table. Its boiling and melting points are the lowest among all the elements.
Helium is found in natural gas, and is extracted by a process called fractional distillation. The largest commercial sources of helium are the United States, Russia, Qatar, and Algeria. The United States has the largest reserves of helium in the world, and is the world's largest producer and exporter of helium.
Helium is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It belongs to the group of noble gases, which are very unreactive and do not form compounds easily. Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe, after hydrogen, and it was first discovered in the sun’s spectrum.
One of the most remarkable properties of helium is its extremely low boiling point. It is the only element that cannot be liquefied by cooling at normal pressure. It requires a pressure of about 25 atmospheres to become a liquid at 4.22 K (−268.93 °C, −452.07 °F), which is the lowest temperature possible for any substance. At even lower temperatures, helium can become a solid or a superfluid.
Helium has many applications in science and technology, thanks to its unique characteristics. It is used to cool superconducting magnets, such as those in MRI machines, particle accelerators, and nuclear fusion reactors. It is also used to fill balloons and airships, as it is lighter than air and non-flammable. Moreover, it is used as an inert gas for welding, as it does not react with the metals being joined.