Helium gas supply running out folks!

LockH

LockH

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ES Search found 148 matches: +helium. The fact there is a limited supply only mentioned here a few times. But in the news again today (which the Weather Network files under "Fun Facts") "Today: December 31, 2014
Experts warn that the world could run out of helium within 25 to 30 years, potentially spelling disaster as liquid helium is critical for cooling."

Geee... So, "disaster" still a "bad" word? :(

And here from 2012:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/med-tech/why-is-there-a-helium-shortage-10031229

(From "Popular" Mechanics)
"Why Is There a Helium Shortage?
A crucial ingredient in MRI machines, wafer manufacturing, welding, and more, helium is experiencing a shortage that’s driving up its price around the world."
"
 
HEY. One "disaster" at a time, eh? :cry:
 
As it becomes more rare, it will also become hugely expensive and birthday balloons will no longer use helium. My interest in helium is for use as a heat transfer material in a certain type of nuclear reactor, but...nobody is building those, so I guess its no loss.

When helium gets expensive, i suppose we will only find it is MRI machines, or...MRI machines will be redesigned to use a slightly less desirable design.
 
Felix Baumgartner know something about that... lol he uses over 30 million cu ft of helium to do a world record... lol


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Doc
 
spinningmagnets said:
As it becomes more rare, it will also become hugely expensive and birthday balloons will no longer use helium. My interest in helium is for use as a heat transfer material in a certain type of nuclear reactor, but...nobody is building those, so I guess its no loss.
Click to expand...
Well, interesting enough is that it takes nuclear fusion to form hydrogen atoms into helium. Those in that field are making great strides building practical fusion reactors. Once that happens, fusion reactors will become the norm for power generation. If that happens, before we malthuse ourselves into oblivion, then we may actually find ourselves in a situation where there is too much helium and we don't know what to do with it.

So I want to propose a solution right now - we'll need a lot more helium filled balloons to contain the out-gassing of our new fleets of nuclear fusion reactors. One way to do this is if everybody celebrated their birthday every single day of the year, leaving the balloons filled. In fact, there may be so many helium balloons, that we'll have to find innovative ways to deal with that issue too! I'm suggesting that we first float our houses off the ground and go to an all sky based civilization. Everything floats - out houses, cities, transport, everything.

So that means, we could leave the surface of the planet for all the really heavy things, like those nuclear fusion reactors. That and things that grow in the earth. I think that a floating civilization, floating gently above vast green forests would be a rather more pleasant way to live.

Now, you may want to say that I'm full of hot air or may be mouth farting. But I'm not. I've just got helium on the brain (he says with a high squeaky voice). :lol: :lol:
 
There was a fascinating balloon flight that broke records a while back. No cutting edge, just common sense engineering.

As the balloon gets colder at night it sinks, need to add more helium (impossible to carry enough for weeks of this cycle), or propane/kerosene for a hot air balloon. So hot air it is...Then, it warms up during the day, so sometimes you have to vent some to drop altitude. I'm sure the sheds heat to the air so it would rare;y need to be vented for altitude adjustment (unexpected storms, etc). So mostly turning on the burner occasionally to regain altitude.

Someone got the idea for a hybrid balloon. Hot air in the middle, and a permanent helium shell to not only act as a lifting agent, it also insulated the hot air so the carried fuel lasted longer. This fascinates me because it was miles better than previous attempts, but the tech could have easily been used 100 years ago.

I apologize for any misunderstandings I have stated here. I have no experience with hot air balloons (Dogman Dan is the local expert)
 
While back in 2003 when i was working at the Sherbrooke University Dep of Physics, the supraconduction research group had a giant baloon stored on the basement to recover all the evaporated gaz helium that was used for the Cryostat for the supraconductor material test. Each time they needed to fill it a huge amount of liquid helium was evaporating the time that all the inside part of the cryostat cool down to the 4 degre K temp of liquid helium. Then our Helium liquefactor was reconverting it to Liquid with minimal loss. Helium is pretty expensive today and Helium 3 that waws also used is alot more!

I remember one day when accidently the 18 Tesla supraconducting magnet have quench!! ( when it list the supraconducting state and vaporized dozens of Liquid helium instantanously!... the helium quickly filled all the lab at a point it was dangerous for asphixy!!

Here is an exemple of that: [youtube]nBVHnZ8tru0[/youtube]
 
Dauntless said:
.... and vacuum it off the surface.
Click to expand...

Just like in the Spaceball movie ? :lol:

[youtube]xnMAxANavKY[/youtube]

Doc
 
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