Did you realize that just like certain animals here on Earth, there are endangered elements
too?
For example, each day, super low-density helium gas defies gravity and escapes our atmosphere
into space.
We’re constantly losing this incredible element, and it’s too expensive to recreate
in the laboratory.
So that’s bad news for more than just your birthday party.
Because helium has helped create revolutionary scientific innovations and has industrial
uses that simply cannot be replicated.
So wait a minute… how much helium do we have left and will this element go extinct
in our lifetimes?
First of all, our finite supply of helium here on Earth formed through the decomposition
of radioactive elements in the mantle over hundreds of millions of years, and eventually
worked its way into rock formations within the crust.
It was first identified in a lava sample from Mount Vesuvius in 1882, but was considered
to be an extremely rare Earth element at that point in history.
But then In 1905, a scientist had a breakthrough discovery, and managed to extract it from
a natural gas sample in Kansas.
This gave rise to the era of helium abundance and shortly thereafter a myriad of helium
fueled industrial uses and innovations came about, pushing it into high demand all over
the globe.
Helium makes up about 0.0005% of the Earth’s atmosphere.
The reason this amount stays so small is because the helium that is released from the Earth’s
crust, or your birthday balloon - is constantly escaping into space.
This low concentration in the air makes it inefficient to harvest so the helium industry
extracts it from natural gas reserves where it can be present in much higher concentrations.
The real problem is, there are only so many places on earth with concentrations of helium
that are high enough for extraction to be economically viable.
The US Geological Survey estimates that there is approximately 52 Billion cubic meters of
helium on Earth, which might sound like a lot and make you think that running out is
a joke.
But don’t laugh folks, helium is so incredibly useful that demand for it has increased by
10% each year in the past decade, while our finite reserves continue to dwindle.
Helium’s high industrial demand comes from three unique physical properties.
First of all, it’s inert, or not chemically reactive.
Second, it has a very low density as a gas.
And third, it it can become a liquid at -269 degrees Celsius and stay liquid at the coldest
temperatures that we can achieve.
As an inert, low density gas, it’s perfect for filling balloons and zeppelins to get
them to float - if you recall the Hindenburg incident, highly reactive hydrogen isn’t
a suitable option for manned aircrafts.
Being inert also means it’s able to be used as a shielding gas in arc welding.
Without it, gasses in our atmosphere can interfere with the binding of metals, so helium makes
for extra strong welds.
It’s also mixed into deepwater oxygen tanks for scuba divers.
But its incredibly low condensation point allows it to be a liquid at near absolute
zero, the lowest temperature that’s theoretically possible.
This special quality helped scientists discover new properties of materials, such as “superconductors”,
which are like metals, except SUPER conductive at these low temperatures,.
These materials can carry an electrical current indefinitely without losing any energy to
heat.
This innovation paved the way for floating maglev trains, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging,
or MRIs.
And for our beloved chemists, without helium, there would be no Nuclear Magnetic Resonance,
or NMR.
A tool that’s lead to the synthesis of many useful drugs and chemical products.
That leads to the big issue with helium, as it fuels current technologies and future innovations,
its high demand and finite supply means prices can rise during shortages.
Because of its limited availability around the world, this can happen at a moments notice.
For example when the world’s second largest helium producer, Qatar, was recently blockaded
by its neighbors, it caused a lot of problems for labs and companies that rely on their
helium reserves.
It’s bad enough that companies are left vulnerable to this type of situation, but
what maybe be worse is not having enough grant money to buy it in the first place.
In the last decade, the price of helium has gone up by more than 250%, pricing many researchers
out completely.
Laboratories have started to realize that when spending grant money, an atom saved is
an atom earned if you will.
Recycling is becoming more and more of a priority.
MRI’s often recycle their helium usage and many more technologies are expected to follow
suit.
There is an inevitability to this extinction – it may not be in our lifetime, but unless
we act quick, no one will be able to say “I told you so” in that squeaky voice, ever
again.
As YouTube’s premier chemistry channel – self proclaimed of course – we made this video
in honor of the International Year of the Periodic Table.
If you want to learn more about the celebration, get involved at www.acs.org/IYPT.
Hit thumbs up and subscribe on the way out, and we’ll see you again soon.