All About Helium

Helium is magical. It makes balloons float, it helps to keep the food cold in our refrigerator, and it even fuels the aircraft that we take to get from point A to point B. It’s also one of the most abundant chemical elements on the planet, and these facts are just scratching the surface. Keep reading to learn all about helium and how it impacts your daily life. 

All about helium and the periodic table

Helium is a noble gas and it sits on the very top row of the periodic table. The word “helium” comes from the Greek word for sun because scientists believe that the sun holds very large reserves of the gas. When you learn all about helium, you’ll learn the gas has no color, has no smell, and it is found everywhere on the planet. And despite its abundance, the human race uses so much of it for so many things, that there is often a shortage of the gas. 

All about helium and balloons

Helium was first put inside of a rubber balloon in the 1800s as a means to capture the gas so that scientists could study it. The balloons themselves became popular and the first cheerful, colorful ones were sold at the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago. In the decades since, they’ve become a staple of birthdays and celebrations everywhere.   

Other places where you’ll find helium used

Helium is abundant on Earth and humans have found many ways to use it. In SCUBA tanks, for instance, helium is combined with oxygen making it easier for divers to breathe deep under water. Lasers often use helium and the element is used as a coolant for nuclear towers. It’s also used in rocket fuel, and if you’ve ever seen a blimp floating over the big game, it’s full of helium too. 

Consumer helium

Because helium is so often used in daily life, a tank full of it is very easy to get. Any wholesale balloon supplier near you should also offer a helium tank rental program too. While helium is an inert gas that doesn’t present too much danger to humans, you still have to carefully handle the gas and the tank that it comes in. Be sure to follow the retailer’s instructions to a T.