Helium
The observable universe contains helium at about 24% of its total elemental mass. This figure represents more than 12 times the combined mass of all heavier elements. Most of this helium formed during Big Bang nucleosynthesis one to three minutes after the initial explosion. The process created vast quantities of helium-4 nuclei from free protons and neutrons. These nuclei possess a nuclear binding energy per nucleon that is significantly higher than any nearby element. This stability meant that once formed, no energetic drive existed to fuse them into carbon or other elements within those first few minutes. Stars continue to create new helium through the nuclear fusion of hydrogen in their cores. The Sun and Jupiter both contain helium at abundances similar to the early universe ratio. This cosmic prevalence makes helium the second most abundant element after hydrogen.
French astronomer Jules Janssen observed a bright yellow spectral line with a wavelength of 587.49 nanometers on the 18th of August 1868. He detected this line during a total solar eclipse over Guntur, India. English astronomer Norman Lockyer independently observed the same line later that year from Britain. Lockyer concluded it was caused by an unknown element rather than sodium. He named the element helium using the Greek word helios for the Sun. Scottish chemist Sir William Ramsay isolated helium on Earth on the 26th of March 1895. He treated the mineral cleveite with mineral acids to release the gas. Swedish chemists Per Teodor Cleve and Nils Abraham Langlet achieved independent isolation in Uppsala that same year. American geochemist William Francis Hillebrand had noticed unusual spectral lines earlier but attributed them to nitrogen. Ernest Rutherford and Thomas Royds demonstrated alpha particles were helium nuclei in 1907. Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes first liquefied helium in 1908 by cooling it below four Kelvin.
Russian physicist Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa discovered that helium-4 has almost no viscosity near absolute zero in 1938. This phenomenon is now called superfluidity. Liquid helium exists as two distinct phases: Helium I and Helium II. Helium II occurs at temperatures below the lambda point of 2.17 K. It flows through capillaries as thin as 10 to 100 nanometers without measurable viscosity. The liquid exhibits a creeping effect known as the Rollin film. A 30 nm-thick layer moves along surfaces against gravity until reaching warmer regions. Heat conduction in this state exceeds that of any other known substance. Thermal energy travels through Helium II as waves moving at 20 meters per second. American physicists Douglas D. Osheroff, David M. Lee, and Robert C. Richardson observed similar behavior in helium-3 in 1972. They found the effect occurred only at much lower temperatures closer to absolute zero. Solid helium requires pressures above 25 atmospheres to form at low temperatures.
A gas geyser erupted during an oil drilling operation in Dexter, Kansas in 1903. State geologist Erasmus Haworth collected samples from the unburnable stream. Chemists Hamilton Cady and David McFarland analyzed the gas and found it contained 1.84% helium. This discovery revealed large concentrations under the American Great Plains. The United States government established the National Helium Reserve in Amarillo, Texas in 1925. By 2008, approximately 78% of global extraction came from the United States. Qatar emerged as a major competitor with new plants built in Ras Laffan between 2004 and 2006. In 2013, Qatar started up the world's largest helium unit managed by Air Liquide. The 2017 diplomatic crisis severely affected production there. The United States surpassed Qatar again in 2024 after extracting 68 million standard cubic meters compared to Qatar's 64 million. New facilities opened in Ningxia, China in 2020 and Tanzania in 2016. Most commercial helium is extracted via fractional distillation from natural gas containing up to 7% helium.
Liquid helium cools superconducting magnets for modern MRI scanners. This application consumes about one quarter of total production. The Large Hadron Collider at CERN uses 96 metric tons of liquid helium to maintain temperatures near absolute zero. Superconductivity requires these extreme cold conditions to function properly. Helium remains liquid down to absolute zero at atmospheric pressure unlike any other element. Pressures above 25 atmospheres are required to freeze it into a solid state. The boiling point of helium-4 is 4.2 K at standard pressure. Its low viscosity allows it to flow through tiny channels without resistance. These properties make it essential for cooling high-field magnets used in particle accelerators. Medical imaging relies on this cooling capability to generate detailed internal body scans. Without liquid helium, the superconducting coils would lose their magnetic properties instantly.
A youth suffocated in Vancouver during 2003 after inhaling helium from a party balloon. Two adults asphyxiated in South Florida in 2006 following similar recreational use. A 15-year-old girl from Texas died in 1998 from helium inhalation at a friend's party. High-pressure cylinders can cause barotrauma that fatally ruptures lung tissue. An Australian girl fell unconscious and turned blue in 1998 after breathing an entire balloon. A teenage girl died in Oregon in 2012 from barotrauma at a party. A member of the Japanese group 3B Junior suffered air embolism in January 2015 while recording a TV show. She lost consciousness and entered a coma due to bubbles blocking blood flow to her brain. Fatalities remain rare but occur when oxygen is displaced or lungs are damaged by pressure. The speed of sound in helium is nearly three times faster than in air. This change creates a reedy vocal quality often used for entertainment purposes.
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Common questions
When was helium first discovered on the Sun?
Helium was first observed on the Sun on the 18th of August 1868 by French astronomer Jules Janssen. He detected a bright yellow spectral line with a wavelength of 587.49 nanometers during a total solar eclipse over Guntur, India.
Who isolated helium from Earth and when did it happen?
Scottish chemist Sir William Ramsay isolated helium on Earth on the 26th of March 1895. He treated the mineral cleveite with mineral acids to release the gas while Swedish chemists Per Teodor Cleve and Nils Abraham Langlet achieved independent isolation in Uppsala that same year.
What percentage of the observable universe is made up of helium?
The observable universe contains helium at about 24% of its total elemental mass. This figure represents more than 12 times the combined mass of all heavier elements.
How much liquid helium does the Large Hadron Collider use?
The Large Hadron Collider at CERN uses 96 metric tons of liquid helium to maintain temperatures near absolute zero. Superconductivity requires these extreme cold conditions to function properly for particle accelerators.
When was helium first liquefied by scientists?
Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes first liquefied helium in 1908 by cooling it below four Kelvin. This process created a state where the liquid exhibits unique properties like superfluidity near absolute zero.