Liquid helium, due to its extremely low boiling point, can be used in cryogenic systems when temperatures below the boiling point of nitrogen are required. Solid helium will form when pressures above 20 times atmospheric are provided. Liquid helium boils at approximately -268.93 Centigrade (4.2 Kelvin) and will not freeze at atmospheric pressure conditions. Helium possesses 92% of the lifting power of hydrogen, although it bears double the weight of hydrogen. Being non-combustible, helium is preferred to hydrogen as the lifting gas in lighter-than-air itself. The real difficulty lies with the fact that separation and extraction of helium from other gasses is a bit complicated. It was concluded that it can usually be found in places where deposits of natural gas exist. It was eventually discovered and isolated around 1895 by Sir William Ramsay, a British chemist, who recovered it from a uranium-bearing mineral. Helium has a peculiar and very interesting fact attached to it: it is the only element discovered out of Earth before it was discovered on our planet. Helium is considered one of the noble gases how could it not be? It is the element of the Sun itself! Imperial Helium recognizes the market potential and is specializing in the both the capture and production of helium by is tapping into the abundant opportunities which naturally abound in Western Canada.What is Helium? HELIUM, deriving from the Greek word вЂHeliosвЂ™, О‰О»О№ОїП‚вЂ™, meaning вЂSunвЂ™, and with the elementary symbol вЂHeвЂ™ (in the elements periodic table) is a colourless, odourless gaseous element.

In contrast, to date, Canada, produces ~40MMcf of balloon grade helium from one source, some of which contributes to the USAвЂ™s consumption of over 4Bcf. 30-40% of the global helium supply is shipped from Qatar through the Straits of Hormuz, and contributes significantly to the US demand. To date, helium has been mostly an associated product of natural gas production. Qatar, Russia and US have generally been the predominant producers of helium. There is no chemical way of manufacturing helium and natureвЂ™s way of accumulating helium takes millions of years. However, Nitrogen, natural gas, oil and among others are similarly trapped, and thus Helium can be found with trapped hyrdocarbons. The need for this combination explains why helium is difficult to come by. Only when these three conditions align, can helium accumulate in a porous sedimentary rock layer. Porous sedimentary rocks above the basement faults are capped by an impermeable seal of shale, halite or anhydrite.The basement rocks are fractured and faulted to provide escape routes for the helium.Basement rocks are rich in uranium and thorium.So how is it trapped? When all three of these conditions are met: As a result, it can only be found on earth when it is trapped. While abundant in the universe, on earth it makes up only 0.00052%, and is the only element than can escapes the earthвЂ™s atmosphere.

Our Sun is roughly 25% helium produced by solar fusion. Helium is estimated to be 24% of the universeвЂ™s mass. Ramsay received the 1904 chemistry Nobel prize for the discovery of Helium.

Helium was named after the Greek Titan of the Sun, Helios.Д®nglish chemist, William Ramsay, then isolated the helium particle in 1895 by heating a uranium mineral which resulted in an inert gas with the same spectral line that Janssen and Lockyer saw on the earth. It was first detected as an unknown yellow line in the sunвЂ™s spectrum, during a total solar eclipse in 1868 by French astronomer Pierre Janssen.

Helium wasnвЂ™t easily discoverable as itвЂ™s a colourless, odourless, tasteless, non-toxic, and a completely non-reactive gas (inert, a Noble Gas). An Alpha particle (2 neutrons+2Protons) is ejected and immediately attracts two electrons to form Heliumв‚„. Heв‚„ is a product of radioactive decay of heavy elements such as thorium (Th) and uranium (U). Heв‚„ constitutes more than 99.999% of all Helium of Earth. There are 2 principal types (isotopes) of Helium (Heв‚ѓ, Heв‚„). Knowing where helium comes from and how it behaves can help you appreciate just how precious it is. Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe, after hydrogen (from what can be observed), yet itвЂ™s difficult to find helium in large quantities.

Where does helium come from