Perhaps the most common use of helium is as a safe, non-flammable gas to fill party and parade balloons. However, helium is a key component in many fields, including scientific research, medical technology, high-tech manufacturing, space exploration, and defense. Here are a few examples:
The medical field uses helium in important diagnostic equipment such as MRIs. Helium-neon lasers are used in eye surgery.
Defense applications include rocket engine testing, scientific balloons, surveillance ships, air-to-air missile guidance systems, and more.
Helium is used to cool thermal imaging cameras and equipment used by search and rescue teams and medical personnel to detect and monitor certain physiological processes.
A wide range of industries use helium to detect gas leaks in products. Helium is a safe tracer gas because it is inert. Manufacturers of aerosol products, tires, refrigerators, fire extinguishers, air conditioners, and other equipment use helium to test seals before their products go on the market.
Helium is needed for cutting-edge space science and research. NASA uses helium to keep hot gases and super-cold liquid fuels separated during rocket liftoff.
Arc welding uses helium to form an inert gas shield. Similarly, divers and others working under pressure can use a mixture of helium and oxygen to create a safe artificial breathing environment.
Helium is a protective gas in titanium and zirconium production and in the growth of silicon and germanium crystals.
Because helium is not radioactive, it is used as a cooling medium for nuclear reactors.
Cryogenics, superconductivity, laser pointers, supersonic wind tunnels, CPR pumps, surveillance airships used by the Border Patrol, and liquid-fueled rockets all require helium during their manufacture or use.
For many of these applications, helium is irreplaceable. Helium is a nonrenewable resource with recoverable reserves in only a few locations worldwide, many of which are being depleted. Therefore, ensuring a reliable supply of helium is of vital economic and national security interest to the United States.
