Helium

Located at Group 18 and Period of the Periodic Table is an inert noble gas that are used in air blimps. This is Helium.

Pierre Jansen

First discovered by Pierre Jansen in 1868 and first isolated by William Ramsay in 1895.

Helium was long believed to be existing only in the Sun. However, the first proved presence of Helium proved that Helium not only exist in the sun, Helium also exist on Earth too.

The first discovery made that proved Helium's existence is made by Pierre Jansen while he was observing the solar eclipse in India.  To be precise, it is Madras, India. He saw a color spectrum while observing the sun. However, the color spectrum is not identical to any of the discovered element. So, they named the new element Helium.

Mountain Vesuvius Erupts

In 1882, the first presence of Helium was proven by Italian physicist Luigi Palmieri detected Helium on Earth when analyzing lava from Mount Vesuvius when it erupted. The isolation of Helium was made by William Ramsay when studying liquefied air.

Today, Helium is isolated by the natural radioactive decay of heavy radioactive elements (thorium and uranium, although there are other examples), as the alpha particles emitted by such decays consist of helium-4 nuclei.

Although helium is nontoxic and inert, it can act as a simple asphyxiant by displacing the oxygen in air to levels below that required to support life. Inhalation of helium in excessive amounts can cause dizziness, nausea, vomiting, loss of consciousness and death.

So, try not to eat Helium, okay?

Atomic number : 2

Element name : Helium

Element Latin name : Helium 

Electrons per Shell : [ 2 ]

Discoverer : Pierre Janssen ( 1868 )
Isolator : William Ramsay ( 1895 )

Element's : Atomic Mass : 4.003 u
: Density : 0.1786 g/cm³

: Type : noble gas
Chemical Properties :

• Noble Gas
• Doesn't react ( Inert )
• Very stable



Helium - 4

• 9 isotopes : 3 of them are : Helium - 3 : Protons : 2 : Neutrons : 1 : Electrons : 2 ( Half Life : Stable ) Helium - 4 : Protons : 2 : Neutrons : 2 : Electrons : 2 ( Half Life : Stable ) Helium - 5 : Protons : 2 : Neutrons : 3 : Electrons : 2 ( Half Life : 7.6 quitillion years )

Physical properties :

• Tasteless
• Odorless
• Colorless
• Melting Point : - 272.2 degrees Celsius ( 458 Fahrenheit )
• Boiling Point : - 268.9 degrees Celsius ( 452.1 Fahrenheit )

Fun fact :

• Helium has the lowest melting and boiling point of all the elements
• Helium is also the first element to be discovered outside of Earth.
• Experiences ' Superfluidity', meaning element that experience no viscosity at all. ( GIF below ).
• Even though helium is relatively rare on Earth, it is the second most abundant element Pierre Janssen and the Discovery of Helium. When watching the total eclipse on August 18, 1868 in Madras, British India, French astronomer Pierre Janssen discovered the new chemical element Helium. Janssen also is credited with discovering the gaseous nature of the solar chromosphere.

Top : Low Viscosity
Bottom : High Viscosity

How Helium got its name?

Helium got its name from the old sun god Helios ( not Apollo ), since Helium is first founded on the sun.

Helios

Uses

Helium gas is used to inflate blimps, scientific balloons, since Helium was inert. Helium has once caused serious disasters known as the Hindenburg Disaster. This disaster was caused by the explosion of Hydrogen when the air blimp exploded. Hydrogen continues to explode as Hydrogen is contacted with oxygen, which causes combustion. ( See combustion triangle below ).

Combustion Triangle

Besides, Helium is also used as an inert shield for arc welding. The element inside to pressurize the fuel tanks of liquid fueled rockets and in supersonic wind tunnels also contain Helium, to prevent explosions.

THIS IS THE END OF HELIUM

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