No more squeaky voices from floating balloons. No more Goodyear blimps. We may have reached peak helium levels, as this inert gas is endangered.
Lee Sobotka, professor of chemistry and physics at Washington University in St. Louis, says it is being depleted so rapidly in the world’s largest reserve, outside of Amarillo, Tex., that supplies are expected to be gone there within the next eight years.
Image: Goodyear Blimp
If we use helium for no better purpose than providing armchair slobs and couch potatos with aerial views of ball games, then we deserve to run out of helium.
8 years is a long time if the counter is exponential technological growth.
helium depletion will be countered by advanced technological solutions that we have not yet dreamed of.
so dont worry there will be helium in the future – if we need it.
This seems like a bogus story. I think helium is the second most abundant element in the universe. And how does anyone really know how much the earth has captured?
Are you sure you’re not a front for more Uranium exploration?
Jim, If you follow the link above to Scientific Blogging, you will find that helium is used science:
“Helium plays a role in nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectroscopy, welding, fiber optics and computer microchip production, among other technological applications. NASA uses large amounts annually to pressurize space shuttle fuel tanks.”
The problem with helium is that it is a gas that isn’t bound by gravity. We can’t extract it from the atmosphere like we can with nitrogen. Helium is a huge part of physics research. I worked at a university lab, and we used a ridiculous amount of liquid helium (due to its very low temperatures) for experiments relating to quantum mechanics. The thing is that we haven’t found anything as useful as helium for achieving such low temperatures. It’s a real shame we waste so much of it.