All About Elements:

1 Ward’s All About Elements Series Building Real-World Connections to Fun Facts the Building Blocks of Chemistry About…Helium 2 1. Helium is the second most abundant ele- PERIODIC TABLE OF THE ELEMENTS GROUP 1/IA 18/VIIIA ment after hydrogen in the universe and 1 2 H KEY He solar system. Approximately 11.3% of all Atomic Number 1.01 2/IIA 35 13/IIIA 14/IVA 15/VA 16/VIA 17/VIIA 4.00 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 atoms in the universe are helium atoms. Li Be Symbol Br B C N O F Ne 6.94 9.01 79.90 Atomic Weight 10.81 12.01 14.01 16.00 19.00 20.18 When this number is added to the 88.6% of 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar the atoms in the universe that are hydrogen, 8 9 10 22.99 24.31 3/IIIB 4/IVB 5/VB 6/VIB 7/VIIB VIIIBVIII 11/IB 12/IIB 26.98 28.09 30.97 32.07 35.45 39.95 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 scientists conclude that at least 99.9% of all K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr 39.10 40.08 44.96 47.87 50.94 52.00 54.94 55.85 58.93 58.69 63.55 65.41 69.72 72.64 74.92 78.9678.96 79.90 83.80 atoms in the universe are either hydrogen or 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 He Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te I Xe helium atoms. 85.47 87.62 88.91 91.22 92.91 95.94 (97.91)(98) 101.07 102.91 106.42 107.87 112.41 114.82 118.71 121.76 127.60 126.90 131.29 55 56 57–71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 Cs Ba La-Lu Hf Ta W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn ´ 132.91 137.33 178.49 180.95 183.84 186.21 190.23 192.22 195.08 196.97 200.59 204.38 207.20207.2 208.98 (208.98)(209) (209.99)(210) (222.02)(222) 87 88 89–103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 2. Helium was discovered in the Sun’s Fr Ra AcAc-Lr - Lr Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds Rg Uub Uut Uuq Uup Uuh Uus Uuo atmosphere before it was found on . ´´ (223.02)(223) (226.03)(226) (261.11)(261) (262.11)(262) (266.12)(266) (264.12)(264) (277.00)(277) (268.14)(268) (247.07)(269) (280.00)(272) (285.00)(285) (284.00)(284) (289.00)(289) (288.00)(288) (293.00)(289) (294.00) (294.00)(294) 4.00 ´ 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 La Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu 3. Helium exists in Earth’s atmosphere only 138.91 140.12 140.91 144.24 (144.91)(145) 150.36 151.97151.96 157.25 158.93 162.50 164.93 167.26 168.93 173.04 174.97 US: www.wardsci.com Canada: www.wardsci.ca ´´ 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 800-962-2660 because it is constantly resupplied by the decay of radioactive elements on earth, such as © 2010 Rev. 7/15 Ward’s . All Rights Reserved. No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form Ac Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr or by any means without express prior written permission from Ward’s Science. (227.03)(227) 232.04232.04 231.04 238.03 (237.05)(237) (244.06)(244) (243.06)(243) (247.07)(247) (247.07)(247) (251.08)(251) (252.08)(252) (257.10)(257) (258.10)(258) (259.10)(259) (262.11)(262) US: www.scholarchemistry.com Canada: www.scholarchemistry.ca NOTES: Black — solid Red — gas Blue — liquid — synthetically prepared 866-260-0501 uranium and thorium. © Copyright 2010 ScholAR Chemistry. All Rights Reserved. Values provided are based on the 85th edition of the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Some values have been rounded. BASICNo portion PERIODIC of this work TABLE may be reproduced- SIDE 1 (Rev.in any form7/15) or by any means without express prior written permission from ScholAR Chemistry. Catalog #9630200 4. The helium we used today is is harvested through the same process that natural gas A chemical element is the simplest form of matter that scientists can work with is harvested. directly. All of the more complex substances are composed of elements in vari- ous combinations. But have you ever inquired about the properties of each of 5. The “lighter than air” properties of helium make it perfect for inflating party balloons, weather those individual chemical building blocks? Our universe is composed of trillions balloons, blimps and even the massive balloons seen each year in the Macy Thanksgiving Day of substances that are all differing compositions of a finite number of elements. Parade. In fact, to fill 15 of the balloons that are seen walking the streets of New York, organiz- In this email series, we will delve deeper into each of the elements in order to ers had to use approximately 300,000 cubic feet of helium. This is the equivalent volume of 2.2 gain more insight into their properties and uses and the substances they are million gallons of milk.tion, or hydrogen combining with oxygen. The reaction is equivalent used to create. to burning hydrogen; however it is much slower and more controlled and produces electrical energy to power the vehicle instead of heat. In our All About Elements series, we’ve brought together the most fascinating facts and figures about your favorite elements so students can explore their All About properties and uses in the real world and you can create chemistry connections in your classroom and beyond. Helium: Helium is the second element on the Periodic Table of Elements. It is the Look for a new featured element each month, plus first noble gas that we encounter on limited-time savings on select hands-on materials our trip around the table, and that means that it is also an inert gas. Inert to incorporate these element in your lessons. means that the element is not very active, and will not combine with Facebook “f” Logo CMYK / .eps Facebook “f” Logo CMYK / .eps Sign up to receive Ward’s other elements or compounds. As Follow us on: OR a matter of fact, there have been no Science emails at wardsci.com compounds of helium ever made! The and get a new element in your inbox reason that helium and all other noble each month. gases are inert is because they have Large Hadron Collider completely filled electron shells. They do not need any other electrons to “feel complete.” But do not assume that helium is boring just because it does not Check back often at wardsci.com/elements for the latest content form compounds with other elements. Helium may be colorless, odorless and and exclusive savings on new teaching tools each month. tasteless, but it shows up in exciting process such as semiconductors, birthday balloons, welding and the Large Hadron Collider just to name a few. wardsci.com | 800-962-2660 2 3 Properties of Helium In addition to being the second element on the Periodic Table, it is also the second most abundant element in the universe. Only Hydrogen is more abundant! These two elements were copiously formed during the creation of the universe. In the early stages of the universe, helium and hydrogen nuclei were actually formed. No atoms were formed until about 300,000 years after the Big Bang took place, when the universe became cold enough to form electrons that would combine with existing nuclei to form atoms. The helium nuclei that were originally created still exist today in two different forms. The first is helium-4. Helium-4 has two protons and two neutrons. The second is helium-3, which also has 2 protons but only has 1 neutron. Where in the World is Helium? Helium-4 and helium-3 are both being made each day inside every star in the sky due to nuclear fusion reactions between hydrogen nuclei. It is no surprise then that about 1 out of every 10 atoms or nuclei in For nearly 30 years, and physicists were baffled by this mystery element that was identified on the universe is that of helium. It is estimated that about 11.3% of the atoms in the universe and solar system the Sun but could not be found on Earth. It wasn’t until 1895 when Scottish found are helium atoms. When this number is added to the approximate 88.6% of the hydrogen atoms in the helium when he isolated the gas that was formed when mixing uranium ore with acids. Although Ramsay universe, scientists estimate that at least 99.9% of all of the atoms in the universe are either hydrogen or was searching for argon, he analyzed the gas sample produced and realized that the spectrum matched that helium atoms! of Lockyer’s helium. Credit for the earthly discovery of helium is sometimes given to two other scientists also. Swedish chemists Per Theodor Cleve and Nils Abraham Langlet also discovered helium at about the same This 11.3% abundance is in drastic contrast however to the abundance of helium atoms on Earth. Helium is time in a mineral called cleveite. While Ramsey had identified that helium was present in the uranium ore, he the 6th most abundant gas in Earth’s atmosphere after nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, and neon. was not clear on why it was present there. It was not until 1907 that this answer would become clear. Helium only makes up 0.0005% of the air that we breathe each and every day. Most of the helium atoms that were present in the Earth’s atmosphere at the beginning were able to escape Earth’s gravitation pull very early due to their light mass and resulting speed. This is not the case for all planets in our solar system. The atmosphere of Jupiter is very dense and contains about 24% helium by mass, mainly because of the cold temperatures of Jupiter and the much stronger gravitation pull. Molecules of helium have a much Formation of Earthly Helium harder time gaining enough speed to break free from the gravitation pull of the gas giant English physicist Ernest Rutherford was one of the great scientific figures of the 20th century. He made a number of important discoveries about the structure of atoms and about radioactivity, one of which led to the understanding of why helium was found in uranium ore by Ramsay in 1895. Rutherford discovered Discovery and that one form of radiation given off by radioactive materials is an alpha particle. In 1907 he discovered that alpha particles are simple helium atoms without their electrons, and as uranium atoms broke apart during History radioactive decay, they gave off alpha particles (helium atoms). This is why helium was first found on Earth in Now you may be asking that if helium has the connection with uranium ore. ability to leave our atmosphere, how we still have a constant 0.0005% left. Well, the answer lies in the Around the same time, scientists formation of helium deep within the Earth’s crust. began to suspect that helium was Helium only exists in Earth’s atmosphere because it lurking in natural gas. According is constantly resupplied by the decay of radioactive to the American Chemical Society, elements such as uranium and thorium. This radioac- in 1903 a new natural gas well was tive decay process was not understood however opened in Dexter Kansas. During for many years after the original discovery of the the town celebration, the mayor element Helium. Let’s take a walk through history attempted to ignite the escaping and discover however helium was discovered and gases, only to find that the flames how constant radioactive decay allows us to use it for continuously went out. While this was very disappointing for the our birthday party balloons. Photo of Jupiter attending townspeople, Kansas State geologist Erasmus Haworth became curious. He studied the gas from The Sun was actually the first place that helium was discovered. French the well only to find that 12% was comprised of inert gases. Over the next two years he discovered that astronomer Pierre Janssen was in India in August 1868 to witness a total solar eclipse. He used a spectroscope helium was one of the inert gases present in the natural gas, due to the radioactive decay or materials such in order to view the wavelengths of light coming from the sun. A spectroscope is a powerful instrument used as uranium and thorium. Together these elements produce about 3000 metric tons of helium a year that to study chemical elements, and break the wavelengths of light that we see with the naked eye as one con- escapes from the Earth’s crush with the natural gas. Helium is able to be isolated from natural gas reservoirs stant color, into its basic parts. These basic parts consist of a series of colored lines. These lines are called the deep beneath the Earth’s surface. As the helium comes to the surface with the natural gas, the temperature element’s spectrum, and each element has its own distinct spectrum. Spectroscopes allow scientists to I’ll see of the mixture is lowered, and the natural gas liquefies and is funneled away, the gaseous helium is left an elements spectrum, even if they cannot see the element itself. When Janssen was using the spectroscope behind. As a result of the discovery that helium is present in many natural gas deposits, the price of helium to better observe the full eclipse of the sun, he identified some spectral lines that could not be traced to any plummeted and the United States built a facility to stockpile the gas mainly from natural gas deposits in known element. He therefore concluded that there must be an element of the Sun that had never been seen Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Approximately 80% of the world helium is produced in the United States and on earth. At about the same time an English physicist named Joseph Norman Lockyer noticed a similar bright for many years, the US government operated the Federal Helium Program. This program was responsible for line, with a wavelength of 587.49 nanometers, in the spectrum of sunlight and also concluded that no known collecting and storing helium for government use. The main customers for this helium were the Department element was responsible for it. Lockyer suggested that this new mystery element be called helium, after the of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Department of Energy. In 1996 this “Helios” the Greek word for sun. program ended and the Bureau of Mines has now begun to sell of the federal reserves of helium.

wardsci.com | 800-962-2660 4 5 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Snoopy Balloon Have you ever wondered how much helium it takes to inflate a birthday party balloon? How about some- thing larger such as a blimp? Well, according to parade organizers, it takes approximately 300,000 cubic feet Uses of Helium Today Crude helium enrichment unit of helium to float the 15 character balloons in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! That is the equivalent volume of 2.2 million gallons of milk. While helium does not have the lifting power that hydrogen has, Helium has a very low temperature and boiling hydrogen is a flammable gas, while helium is not, and therefore it is the gas of choice for our party balloons, point, and therefore remains in its gaseous form weather balloons and blimps. until it is cooled to extremely cold temperatures. It is also the lightest of all the Group 18 noble gases and is “lighter than air.” These two properties combined Helium is also used during welding with helium’s unreactivity make it the perfect ele- operations due to its inactivity. ment for use in a variety of different applications Welding is a process by which two such as inflating balloons and blimps, shielding metals are heated to high tem- during welding operations, pressurizing fuel tanks peratures in order to join them to in liquid fueled rockets, cooling superconductive each other. Welding however does magnets, and for making our voices “squeaky.” not work well in “normal” air due It is often the joke at birthday parties to cut open Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Machine to the presence of oxygen. At high a helium balloon and inhale the gas. This causes the temperatures, the metals are able persons voice to sound squeaky. Because the speed of sound is much higher in helium than in natural air, to react with the oxygen in the air it has the same effect as shrinking the cavities inside the mouth and nose, and therefore higher frequencies to form metal oxides. If this occurs, resonant causing the sound to appear higher even though the voice box produces exactly the same range of they are less likely to form a solid frequencies. While this is a fun trick to play every so often, breathing in lungs full of helium, or any other gas, bond and therefore welders often prevents oxygen from reaching the body’s tissue and can cause suffocation, and death. work in a container of helium. The metals do not react with the helium Today, helium is frequently found in laboratories that require extra-cold temperatures for experiments, and therefore a stronger bond is because it can be chilled to temperatures near absolute zero. In fact, most of the helium that is used in the formed. United States is used in industry and to cool the magnets in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines. Liquid helium also cools the magnets of the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest particle accelerator, down to -456.34 F (-271.3C). The National Aeronautics and Space Association, or NASA, uses liquid helium to keep rocket fuel cool prior to launch. Also many components of airplanes and spaceships are exposed to thermal cycling during their manufacturing process in order to harden the components and make them du- Welding under inert Helium gas rable for the demands that will be put on them. This cold phase of this repeated cooling and heating process is normally achieved using liquid helium as well.

wardsci.com | 800-962-2660 6 7 Teach All About Helium with Spectrum Discharge Tubes, Deuterium these Hands-on Materials: Dramatic Demonstration of Different Wavelengths of Light Ideal for wavelength determination and introducing students Save 13% on these items SAVE to the spectra of better known gases, these glass tubes are 10” long, and the capillary portion is about 4” long. The spectrum through March 2016 tube assemblies can be used in a variety of spectroscopic 13% applications. When they are observed through a spectroscope with promo code EOM16 the emission lines corresponding to the energy transition lev- els of the gaseous atoms or molecules will appear as distinct Click item or search by item number to see components. For use with Spectrum Tube Power Supply. complete product details and current pricing Item Number: 160576 available at wardsci.com.

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