Helium
HE It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table. Helium Wikapedia
Helium is used for many purposes that require some of its unique properties, such as its low boiling point, low density, low solubility, high thermal conductivity, or inertness.
Helium is the second lightest element and is the second most abundant in the observable universe, being present in the universe in masses more than 12 times those of all the heavier elements combined. Helium's abundance is also similar to this in our own Sun and Jupiter.
On Earth, the lightness of helium has caused its evaporation from the gas and dust cloud from which the planet condensed, and it is thus relatively rare—0.00052% by volume in the atmosphere. What helium is present today has been mostly created by the natural radioactive decay of heavy radioactive elements (thorium and uranium), as the alpha particles that are emitted by such decays consist of helium-4 nuclei.
Filming Concepts
Helium Production
Most of the helium that is used comes from specific natural gas fields where it is in abundance, the largest concentration of helium trapped under the earths surface has been found here in Hugoton Natural Gas Area in Kansas The United States is the #1 producer of Helium in the World, and this has the highest concentration of helium because it is one of the largest natural gas fields in the USA.
The United State Military has the largest Helium reserve. National Helium Reserve
Airships and Balloons
Because of its low density and incombustibility, helium is the gas of choice to fill airships. While hydrogen gas is approximately 7% more buoyant, helium has the advantage of being non-flammable (in addition to being fire retardant).
The Goodyear Blimp
The Goodyear Blimp Seen at all major US sporting events such as the Superbowl this blimp provides aerial footage to TV stations during these events. <videoflash type="youtube">6zBXsXRyfxA|340|275</videoflash>
The Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade
- Macy's is the world's second largest consumer of helium. The United States government is the first.
- The balloons for the parade are inflated the day before (Wednesday) on both sides of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The balloons are split between 77th and 81st Streets between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. The inflation team consists of various volunteers from Macy's as well as students from JR's Institute of Technology, a local university in Hoboken, NJ where the balloons and floats are designed and built. Dubbed "Thanksgiving Eve Inflation Celebration", the inflation is open to the public the afternoon and night before the parade.
- The first Large animal-shaped balloons, produced by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio, replaced the live animals in 1927 when the Felix the Cat balloon made its debut. Felix was filled with air, but by the next year, helium was used to fill the expanding cast of balloons.
Parade Info <videoflash type="youtube">o019vMS4IsA|340|275</videoflash>
Zeppelins
Birthday Balloons
And of course the effect Helium from birthday Ballons has on the human voice. The speed of sound in helium is nearly three times the speed of sound in air. Because the fundamental frequency of a gas-filled cavity is proportional to the speed of sound in the gas, when helium is inhaled there is a corresponding increase in the pitches of the resonant frequencies of the vocal tract.
Rockets
For Cooling Systems of superconductors
Liquid helium is used to cool certain metals to the extremely low temperatures required for superconductivity, such as in superconducting magnets for magnetic resonance imaging. Liquid helium is used to cool the superconducting magnets in modern MRI scanners. The superconducter at CERN uses 96 metric tons of liquid helium to maintain the temperature at 1.9 kelvins <videoflash type="youtube">j50ZssEojtM|340|275</videoflash>
The Helium Neon Laser
Once used as barcode scaners these lasers are best used in labratorys in optics demonstrations. Perhaps there is something we can film at Zeiss in Jena.