I was going to say no more than anything else these days, but it def isn't the best pasttime for me to be promoting - can cause dizziness, headache, passing out or even death. https://nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/0972.pdf
I learned recently that the main source of helium comes from oil wells that mainly produce natural gas and Qatar is a major gas producing country.
Please tell your friend who owns the balloon business about the proposed law in CT. I'm sure NY, MA, and CA will copy it.
A proposed 2026 Connecticut bill (SB 452) aims to prohibit the sale, import, and distribution of helium for filling lighter-than-air balloons, potentially acting as a statewide ban on helium-filled balloon sales. The measure, could take effect Oct. 1, 2026, with full enforcement by Oct. 1, 2028
The best thing that can happen to me here is I get corrected by some scientists (which means they are here reading and I'm flattered!) I love facts and help fact-checking and welcome input from all. So this post pulled not one but two scientist friends out to tell me I had the Hindenberg thing wrong. At first I had posted that it was a helium-filled ship, which we all should know wasn't the case. It was hydrogen and that's very flammable. So I've corrected that and my apologies, but also I thought it's worth doing deeper and hearing Xavier's full comment to me offline - I'll share here:
"I feel compelled to let you know that helium, like all noble gases, doesn't burn. Hydrogen yes, helium no. Both gases have been used for airship buoyancy. For example, Goodyear blimps use helium. So why would the Nazis put a flammable gas in their expensive airship?
Because there are two drawbacks to using helium:
1) Density: Helium is about twice as dense as hydrogen gas. Each helium atom contains 2 protons + 2 neutrons (molecular weight = 4), whereas each hydrogen molecule only contains 2 protons. Both are handily less dense than oxygen gas (molecular weight 16). Even so, a helium supported airship needs a much larger balloon (called an "envelope" in aeronautical circles) carrying a much larger volume of buoyant gas to support its weight.
2) Source: As you pointed out, helium must be mined and the geological sources of helium are limited. Germany has none, so they were forced to import from the U.S.
You may know that during WWI the zeppelins were used to bomb Britain, so helium was considered a strategic resource. The postwar German zeppelins (including Hindenburg) were designed with large envelopes that could accommodate helium, to make them safer than previous designs. However, by the time they were actually built the U.S. passed legislation to embargo German helium imports. Cheap, plentiful hydrogen was substituted.
Helium or no, zeppelins are an awful transportation technology. The huge surface area always makes them vulnerable to wind. All three zeppelins built for the U.S. Navy were wrecked by storms.
Incidentally, helium is once again a strategic resource because it is necessary for quantum computing – especially the rare, 1 neutron variant helium-3. For physics reasons I don't fully appreciate, it's needed to cool down electronic hardware to near absolute zero. There's a vague possibility that we could mine helium-3 from the moon once it runs out down here."
I hope this gets resolved soon and your friend continues to have a rise in balloon sales. (Pun intended)
Doesn't sucking helium give you a hell of a headache?
I was going to say no more than anything else these days, but it def isn't the best pasttime for me to be promoting - can cause dizziness, headache, passing out or even death. https://nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/0972.pdf
I learned recently that the main source of helium comes from oil wells that mainly produce natural gas and Qatar is a major gas producing country.
Please tell your friend who owns the balloon business about the proposed law in CT. I'm sure NY, MA, and CA will copy it.
A proposed 2026 Connecticut bill (SB 452) aims to prohibit the sale, import, and distribution of helium for filling lighter-than-air balloons, potentially acting as a statewide ban on helium-filled balloon sales. The measure, could take effect Oct. 1, 2026, with full enforcement by Oct. 1, 2028
Interesting thanks! Back to human-blowing
The best thing that can happen to me here is I get corrected by some scientists (which means they are here reading and I'm flattered!) I love facts and help fact-checking and welcome input from all. So this post pulled not one but two scientist friends out to tell me I had the Hindenberg thing wrong. At first I had posted that it was a helium-filled ship, which we all should know wasn't the case. It was hydrogen and that's very flammable. So I've corrected that and my apologies, but also I thought it's worth doing deeper and hearing Xavier's full comment to me offline - I'll share here:
"I feel compelled to let you know that helium, like all noble gases, doesn't burn. Hydrogen yes, helium no. Both gases have been used for airship buoyancy. For example, Goodyear blimps use helium. So why would the Nazis put a flammable gas in their expensive airship?
Because there are two drawbacks to using helium:
1) Density: Helium is about twice as dense as hydrogen gas. Each helium atom contains 2 protons + 2 neutrons (molecular weight = 4), whereas each hydrogen molecule only contains 2 protons. Both are handily less dense than oxygen gas (molecular weight 16). Even so, a helium supported airship needs a much larger balloon (called an "envelope" in aeronautical circles) carrying a much larger volume of buoyant gas to support its weight.
2) Source: As you pointed out, helium must be mined and the geological sources of helium are limited. Germany has none, so they were forced to import from the U.S.
You may know that during WWI the zeppelins were used to bomb Britain, so helium was considered a strategic resource. The postwar German zeppelins (including Hindenburg) were designed with large envelopes that could accommodate helium, to make them safer than previous designs. However, by the time they were actually built the U.S. passed legislation to embargo German helium imports. Cheap, plentiful hydrogen was substituted.
Helium or no, zeppelins are an awful transportation technology. The huge surface area always makes them vulnerable to wind. All three zeppelins built for the U.S. Navy were wrecked by storms.
Incidentally, helium is once again a strategic resource because it is necessary for quantum computing – especially the rare, 1 neutron variant helium-3. For physics reasons I don't fully appreciate, it's needed to cool down electronic hardware to near absolute zero. There's a vague possibility that we could mine helium-3 from the moon once it runs out down here."