We’re running out of helium, folks
Not that science matters much.
Right?
Monument to the Helium Atom
In America, helium is running out of gas. The element that lifts things like balloons, spirits and voice ranges is being depleted so rapidly in the world’s largest reserve, outside of Amarillo, Texas, that supplies are expected to be depleted there within the next eight years.
This deflates more than the Goodyear blimp and party favors. Its larger impact is on science and technology…”Helium’s use in science is extremely broad, but its most important use is as a coolant,” said Lee Sobotka, a specialist in nuclear chemistry and physics who collaborates with researchers at several national laboratories…
“Helium is non-renewable and irreplaceable. Its properties are unique and unlike hydrocarbon fuels, there are no biosynthetic ways to make an alternative to helium. All should make better efforts to recycle it…”
Helium plays second fiddle to marketing oil and natural gas, and much of it is lost in a process that removes noncombustible nitrogen and helium from the product of prime interest.
The Oil Patch Boys consider dollars to be their prime commodity, anyway. Worrying about science and nature is not a near-term priority.
Posted: Sat - January 5, 2008 at 08:49 AM