Helium gas is used in balloons sold at festivals and in joke items that change voices.

In this article, we will explain the properties and characteristics of helium, as well as how it is used in society and its history.

It is light reading because it uses examples of things that are familiar and easy to imagine.

Properties and characteristics of helium

Helium is lighter than air and nonflammable. And it is the second most abundant element in the universe.

However, it is an extremely rare element in our planet, present in only about 0.0005% of the Earth’s atmosphere.

You might think, “If it’s so rare, why am I breathing helium gas and changing my voice only for fun?” but the truth is that it just can’t be made from air; it can be separated and refined from natural gas, so it doesn’t run out.

Helium also has the property of liquefying only at fairly low temperatures.

So how is helium used in society?
Let’s look at this with some actual examples.

How helium is used in society

Helium, which is lighter than air and only liquefies at fairly low temperatures (liquefies at about -296°C), is used in various situations such as ‘flying balloons’, MRI and rocket launches.

Helium is useful for ‘Flying balloons’

If you inflate an ordinary balloon made of rubber by yourself, it will not fly, right?

However, balloons sold at festivals float in and fly up into the sky when the string is released.
This is because it is filled with helium, which has the property of being lighter than air.

Helium gas raises the voice for the same reason: helium, which is lighter than air, transmits sound faster than air, so the frequency of sound resonating in the vocal tract is higher and the voice sounds higher.

Helium is useful for ‘MRI’

MRI used for medical examinations.

MRL uses a powerful magnetic field to take images of the human body as if it were sliced in a circle, and helium is essential for this machine.

Super-electric electromagnets are used to obtain a strong magnetic field, and they heat up with continued use.

At temperatures above a certain level, the current turns into heat and cannot be filmed. So we use helium’s ability to liquefy only at fairly low temperatures.

Specifically, liquefied helium (approx. -269°C) is used to keep it cool.

Helium is useful for ‘Launching rockets’

Liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen are used to fuel rockets.
So what is helium used for?

It is used as a gas to deliver liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
Liquid hydrogen is -253°C and cannot be pushed out that way with ordinary liquids.

However, helium, which does not liquefy down to -269°C, can be used to pressurize and feed this liquid hydrogen. Moreover, they are not easily mixed with oxygen and hydrogen, so they only serve to push them out.

The following article explains why liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen are used.

History of Helium

chemical symbol: He

The word helium is taken from the Greek god Helios, the sun god.

Why the Sun God?

That’s because helium was the element discovered in the total solar eclipse of 1868. Elements discovered when looking at the universe, there is a lot of romance.

Summary

In this article, we discussed the following points.

• Helium is lighter than air and does not liquefy down to -296°C
• Used in ‘flying balloons’, ‘MRI’, ‘rocket launches’, etc.
• The name comes from the sun god Helios, found in the sun

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References site

The whole
風船だけじゃない。ヘリウムガスの様々な用途

Properties and characteristics
ヘリウムのつくられ方

Helium gas
ヘリウムガスで声が変わるのはなぜ？│コカネット

MRI
MRIを支える“永久電磁石”とは？

Rocket
風船だけじゃない。ヘリウムガスの様々な用途