Q: I read that there is a limited supply of helium, which is important for MRI machines and other industrial uses. So why do we waste it filling party balloons?
A:
Although helium is the second most abundant gas in the universe (hydrogen is first), there is a limited supply on earth. Unlike other gases that are a major component of air, such as nitrogen (78 percent), oxygen (21 percent) and argon (1 percent), helium is present in very small amounts (about 5 parts per million) and is therefore not economical to obtain from the air around us.
Helium is extracted from natural gas where its percentage is usually under 1 percent but is still thousands of times more concentrated than in air, making it economical to produce. Not all natural gas contains helium, but some of the world’s largest deposits are in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.
Helium has become extremely important in medical and industrial applications. The number one use is with MRI scanners, accounting for 28 percent of total helium use in the United States, according to LiveScience.com. Other uses include welding, leak detection, superconductors, semiconductors and lifting applications such as blimps.
Once the party balloon is burst and the helium is released into the atmosphere, it’s gone forever. Isn’t there a better alternative? Although party balloons and weather balloons account for only about 7 percent of helium use, it would be nice if there was another choice. However, if you want the balloon to go up, there really is no other choice. All other gases are flammable, explosive or too heavy.
You can purchase helium-filled party balloons for a dollar or less. The cost is cheap because purchasing from the government stockpile is cheap ($60.50 per thousand cubic feet for crude helium in 2008). A producer purchases this crude helium, refines it, adds a profit and sells the product. The selling price has no relationship to the reserves in the ground.
In “New Scientist” this past August, Robert Richardson, a physicist and Nobel Prize laureate from Cornell University, wrote that “helium balloons should cost about $100 apiece based on current helium supply.” This would surely cause most parents to think twice before buying helium balloons for their child’s birthday party. Maybe filling balloons with air would be OK? They won’t rise but you can still play with them.
Interestingly, before 1903 helium was considered to be a rare earth element. Although helium was known to exist on the sun, it was just a trace element in the earth’s atmosphere. In 1903 in Dexter, Kan., a natural gas drilling company struck a gas deposit generating a huge gusher. As part of the ensuing celebration, a bale of hay was lit on fire and lowered over the gushing gas well to produce a great burning display. Instead of the expected fireworks, the gas extinguished the bale of hay. The townspeople walked away in disgust. Subsequent analysis by Hamilton P. Cady and David F. McFarland of the University of Kansas showed that the gas was only 15 percent methane and 72 percent nitrogen but contained almost 2 percent helium.
According to an American Chemical Society article, “meager” quantities of helium were being sold for $2,500 per cubic foot over a century ago. You can’t afford to fill many party balloons at that price. Hopefully we will use our precious helium supplies for the more important things.
– Ed Sokalski, a mechanical engineer, who lives in Salisbury Township.
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