Sci/Tech Helium shortage prompts scientist's balloon use warning

[tom_mai78101]

It is something guaranteed to catch the eye of most young children on a day out - a huge bunch of floating, brightly-coloured helium balloons for sale.

And for many people, a vital element in arranging a party is sitting down with a cylinder of helium to fill dozens of balloons with the lighter-than-air gas.

But according to one academic, such occasions may soon be a thing of the past. Tom Welton, a professor of sustainable chemistry at Imperial College, London, believes that a global shortage of helium means it should be used more carefully.

Helium cools the large magnets inside MRI scanners - the medical devices that provide doctors with detailed images of what is happening inside their patients' bodies.

Helium shortage prompts scientist's balloon use warning

An academic says filling balloons with helium is wrong when limited global supplies are needed for use in medical scanners.

www.bbc.com

 

[Glorn2]

Looks like Levon's family business will no longer thrive. Elton John is to blame.

 

[Dan]

MRI Scanners? PAHHLEEEASE. I choose balloons!

 

[Nyph]

Anybody up for a party where we seal the rooms and fill with a 80/20 helium/oxygen mix?

 

[FireCat]

^ Nah, I don't want to suffocate.

 

[Slapshot136]

but.. balloons leak.. and the helium just goes back into the atmosphere? or do we get helium from somewhere else?

 

[tom_mai78101]

but.. balloons leak.. and the helium just goes back into the atmosphere? or do we get helium from somewhere else?

If we are able to farm helium from our Sun, we wouldn't have to worry much about this. The only thing that I know, our helium reserves are scarce and limited. Earth can't reproduce helium without constant radiation and nuclear fissions, something everyone don't want near their homes.

 

[Slapshot136]

but we don't actually "use" helium.. it's not like we burn it or react it with anything... we just move it from place to place - it's the 6th most common gas in the atmosphere (OK it's only 0.000524%), but it should be possible to just filter it out somehow..

 

[tom_mai78101]

but we don't actually "use" helium.. it's not like we burn it or react it with anything... we just move it from place to place - it's the 6th most common gas in the atmosphere (OK it's only 0.000524%), but it should be possible to just filter it out somehow..

Harder to filter that out, when helium can't be found below 4000 feet above the ground (in the air, of course). They will float near the top of the atmosphere, and will get blown away by the solar winds outside of the atmosphere, which makes finding helium even harder and costly.

 

[KaerfNomekop]

Can't we just send giant baskets into the sky to pull the helium down?

 

[tom_mai78101]

Can't we just send giant baskets into the sky to pull the helium down?

Wished it was that simple. I'm not chemist nor astrophysicist, but this is what I concur:

Solar winds (magnetized ion charges) may also change the molecules of helium (inserting or knocking out ions from helium), therefore if you bring a basket of them down from the sky, you might end up with products that are not helium.

 

[camelCase]

Adapt nuclear reactors to extract helium

 

[Nyph]

I'm pretty sure gas diffusion means that helium isn't going to concentrate at the top of the atmosphere, rather it will be fairly constant throughout.

 

[Varine]

It leaks out of the atmosphere. It's not here anymore.

 

[The Helper]

I keep hearing about this shortage yet I am not seeing any reduction in balloons. WTF? If this is such a crisis and even though this old news it is still mentioned today how come I can still go get a bunch of party balloons or my own helium any time I want to?

 

[tom_mai78101]

I keep hearing about this shortage yet I am not seeing any reduction in balloons. WTF? If this is such a crisis and even though this old news it is still mentioned today how come I can still go get a bunch of party balloons or my own helium any time I want to?

Reservoirs of helium were found since the article was published, and the industry had been securing more supplies for helium. Some news for example:

Canadian helium industry unites to ensure critical supply

Staff • Consortium takes centre stage to secure critical supply of helium

troymedia.com

New Helium Reserve Discovered In Minnesota's Iron Range

From MRI machines to party balloons, helium is in high demand worldwide. But did you know its reserves are running out fast?

minnesotasnewcountry.com

There are also helium recycling programs and conservation efforts going on:

How helium recycling and conservation can combat the global helium shortage

Learn how helium recycling and conservation techniques can combat the global helium shortage impacting various industries.

www.innovationnewsnetwork.com

But nonetheless, helium will run out between 10 to 200 years:

World’s helium supply ‘could run out within a decade’, expert warns

'By having helium balloons at your birthday party you may prevent people from having an MRI scan'

www.independent.co.uk