Can The World As We Know It Survive Without Helium?27 Jul 2021 14:46
The 21st-Century economy is nothing without helium.
Nothing is possible without it. Not astrophysics. Not space travel. Not big data. Not fiber optics, or even an MRI.
There would be no video streaming …
No Netflix.
No cell phones.
And there is absolutely no substitute for helium in the massively growing $5.7-billion cryogenics market, where temperatures below –429 °F are required.
Running out of helium would be like going back in time. In the case of cryogenics … quite literally.
Helium is formed when radioactive elements (uranium and thorium) decay through fission into smaller particles that are helium atoms stripped of their electrons. That fission replenishes helium that is then dispersed in the atmosphere or trapped in minerals typically found in natural gas reservoirs, where helium is usually “mined” as a by-product.
Helium is a noble gas. It’s non-combustible, very unreactive, highly stable and so light that Earth’s gravity cannot hold it. Once it escapes into the atmosphere, it’s gone forever in the vacuum of space.
Its properties are vital to virtually everything that is the backbone of our modern-day economy. In addition to the fact that it is inert and nonreactive, helium is also non-toxic and boils at -268 degrees Celsius--near absolute zero, which is the lowest temperature in the universe. No other element comes close to this magic of being able to remain a liquid at such temperatures.
In other words, helium is irreplaceable.
And it’s 100x more valuable than natural gas.
Natural gas goes for around $3 per Mcf. Helium can go for as high as $400 per Mcf. It’s not traded like a commodity, though, so prices are harder to track.
https://www.baystreet.ca/stockstowatch/10894/Can-The-World-As-We-Know-It-Survive-Without-Helium
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