What was helium used for in the past?

What was helium used for in the past?

Helium was primarily used as a lifting gas in lighter-than-air craft. During World War II, the demand increased for helium for lifting gas and for shielded arc welding.

What are everyday uses of helium?

10 Uses for Helium: More Than Balloons and Blimps

• Heliox mixtures in respiratory treatments for asthma, bronchitis and other lung deficiencies.
• MRI magnets.
• High speed Internet and Cable TV.
• Mobile phone, computer and tablet chips.
• Computer hard drives.
• Cleaning rocket fuel tanks.
• Microscopes.
• Airbags.

What is the history of helium?

History. Helium was discovered in the gaseous atmosphere surrounding the Sun by the French astronomer Pierre Janssen, who detected a bright yellow line in the spectrum of the solar chromosphere during an eclipse in 1868; this line was initially assumed to represent the element sodium.

What was used to discover helium?

Discovery and Naming: The first evidence of helium was obtained on August 18th, 1868 by French astronomer Jules Janssen. While in Guntur, India, Janssen observed a solar eclipse through a prism, whereupon he noticed a bright yellow spectral line (at 587.49 nanometers) emanating from the chromosphere of the Sun.

Why do we need helium?

Because it is very unreactive, helium is used to provide an inert protective atmosphere for making fibre optics and semiconductors, and for arc welding. Helium is also used to detect leaks, such as in car air-conditioning systems, and because it diffuses quickly it is used to inflate car airbags after impact.

Who named helium?

While other astronomers of the time were unsure, Lockyer suggested these unidentified lines belonged to a new metal which he named Helium after the Greek personification of the sun, Helios. For over 20 years, no sign of the metal helium was detected on earth and Lockyer began to be mocked for his mythical element.

Can we synthetically make helium?

Helium is all over the universe—it’s the second-most abundant element. But on Earth, it’s much less common. It can’t be artificially produced and must be extracted from natural gas wells. Over time, helium forms from the decaying uranium and is trapped beneath Earth’s surface, but it takes its sweet time.