RE: Bo Sears ( Mr helium)11 Apr 2024 10:34
From his book which was printed in 2015 ... Helium The Disappearing Element
This book is about the most common isotope of helium, Helium-4 (4
He). When you hear anything about helium, they are more than likely talking about this common isotope which has two protons and two neutrons in its nucleus and orbited by two electrons. Every balloon you see, for instance, contains Helium-4. The same goes for any other helium used in its abundant array of commercial and scientific uses. Helium does, however, have a lighter and stable isotope called Helium-3 (3He). Although any detailed explanation about Helium-3 is beyond the scope of this book, it is important to note that it is also a very valuable and exceedingly rare commodity that is very important for use in neutron detectors, for example, which are able to detect radioactive materials crossing country borders. In addition, if you Google “Helium-3”, you will find an abundance of information about mining the moon for Helium-3 for use as a clean nuclear fuel. Whether Helium-3 lunar mining becomes a reality or not is also beyond the scope of this book so it will not be discussed.
The chances are that if you bought this book, you are aware that there is a helium (Helium-4 which I will simply call “helium” from now on) shortage. Hold on, if helium is the second most abundant element in the Universe, how could there be a shortage of it? That’s a great question and one that I am frequently asked. Although the explanation will be discussed in greater detail in subsequent chapters, the short answer is that the Earthly inventory of helium has a different origin than the cosmic inventory. All of the helium found in the Universe was created in the Big Bang, or the birth of our universe, whereas the helium we use here on Earth is a product of the radioactive decay of the two heaviest natural elements, uranium and thorium. Indeed if Earth had no supply of these heavy radioactive elements, we would have no helium to harvest. In fact, if there were no uranium and thorium, life on Earth would be very different than it is today, if life existed at all.
As I go back to my balloon example, every helium atom in that balloon was a product of the radioactive decay of the elements mentioned above. This radioactive decay occurs in both the Earth’s crust and mantle and in rare cases, helium can migrate up through the crust and collect to form commercial deposits. This process will be discussed in great detail in Chap. 4. Interestingly, if I were to look at any balloon at any party in any state in the United States, all of that helium was produced in the United States. You see, the United States has been the primary source of helium worldwide since the industry began after World War I. As I am writing this, however, the paradigm is shifting and the United States will soon be a net importer of helium unless new reserves are discovered.
Wheeler M. “Bo” Sears, Jr.
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