Helium



= = = Helium =

__**Key Facts**__
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It was thought to only exist in the sun. Helium was actually discovered by accident in an experiment to find what we now know as Argon. Sir Ramsey noticed a yellow spectral line in the spectrum that matched up to the D-3 lines found in the spectrum from analysis of the sun instead of the blue-purple lines that were expected from Argon. ======

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Helium has many uses in not only its gaseous form, but also its liquid form. As a gas, it is mainly used to float objects. One of the most well known uses of Helium is its use to fill balloons such as party balloons and weather. Helium is also used to fill very large objects like blimps. Helium works well for this job because it is an inert gas, unlike Hydrogen which explodes very easily. Because Helium is such an inert gas, it is a perfect shield gas in arc welding. Helium is also able to carry heat very well. Many nuclear reactors use Helium as a means to transfer nuclear heat out of the reactors. Many people also do not know that Helium is put into the helmets of deep sea divers. This prevents the divers from getting the bends. Another famous use of Helium was its use in the rocket fuel of the Apollo space missions. As many of us have seen, Helium filled balloons usually last for a shorter period of time than air filled ones. This is because Helium is able to pass through solids three times faster than oxygen. This makes Helium a perfect candidate for detecting leaks in high pressure containers. ======

__Fun Facts__

 * Did you know that it would take 6,000 helium balloons to lift a 75 pound child into the air?
 * Helium has the lowest melting point out of all of the elements
 * The name "Helium" comes from the Greek word "Helios"
 * Helium makes your voice sound high because sound travels three times faster through Helium than through air
 * Helium was stored in caverns underneath Amarillo, TX after the first World War to fill blimps

__ Sources __
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium http://wanttoknowit.com/uses-of-helium/ http://www.webelements.com/helium/ http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/chemistry/helium.html http://www.carondelet.pvt.k12.ca.us/PeriodicTable/He/ http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=helium

**__Picture and Video Sources__**
http://www.carondelet.pvt.k12.ca.us/PeriodicTable/He/ http://www.goodyearblimp.com/archive/c_osu.html http://www.loeser.us/examples/himages/hind1.jpg http://www.clusterballoon.org/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFIvXVMbII0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z6UJbwxBZI http://www.hobart.k12.in.us/ksms/PeriodicTable/helium.htm