Up, Up, and Away | God's World News

Up, Up, and Away

03/04/2015
  • 1 Helium Balloons
    Lawnchair balloonists use helium for lift.
  • 2 Helium MR Iballoons
    Helium has many different medical, practical, and even recreational uses.
  • 1 Helium Balloons
  • 2 Helium MR Iballoons

What’s odorless, colorless, tasteless, and lighter than air? Here’s a hint: It can make your voice sound funny if you inhale it (which we don’t recommend, by the way). If you guessed helium, you’re right! Scientists say helium gas is the second most plentiful chemical element in the universe. But here on Earth, helium is becoming scarce. That has some experts worried.

Where Does Helium Come From?
Helium is sealed below the Earth’s surface. God made some substances to release helium as they decay. Those helium particles get trapped with natural gas deep in the Earth. Companies that drill for gas and oil separate these from the helium. But helium is difficult and expensive to gather if you’re not already drilling for something else.

What’s Helium Good For?
Helium does a lot more than make balloons float. Scientists use helium to study many things, from solar cells to genetic material. Its ability to withstand freezing makes helium useful in cryogenics, the study of materials at very low temperatures. Cryogenics is important in the space industry.

Helium also cools powerful magnets called superconductors. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines use superconducting magnets in diagnosing some medical conditions. Helium is the only known substance that keeps the magnets cold enough for use in an MRI machine.

Factor in the need for helium in the computer, nuclear energy, and welding industries (think shipbuilding and automotive plants), and this underappreciated gas starts to seem essential.

What’s the Problem?
Helium is a limited resource. In other words, once it’s gone, it’s gone. For decades, Americans have allowed our helium to literally float away.

Years ago, the U.S. government created the Federal Helium Reserve. The reserve is located in a cave in Texas. But now the government wants out of the helium business. It plans to auction off the helium in the reserve. About 10 percent was sold this summer.

Drilling for fossil fuels has become unpopular. That may have contributed toward the present helium shortage. Without drilling, helium stays in the ground. That means there is less available to replace what gets used.
Helium scarcity will most affect healthcare and scientific research. Much medical research and treatment depends on machinery that requires helium. Getting an MRI and buying prescription medications will be more costly.

Should We Be Worried?
Some people forecast trouble when they think about running out of helium. But God our Creator and Heavenly Father knows all about Earth—birds, flowers, humans . . . and helium. He knows our needs and limitations. Earth’s resources will run out only if and when God allows it. He also knows that people tend to worry. A worry-free life? That’s a valuable resource.