{"id":2382,"date":"2025-06-27T14:04:41","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T08:34:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/texpertssolutions.com\/notes\/?p=2382"},"modified":"2025-06-29T16:44:55","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T11:14:55","slug":"helium-he","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/texpertssolutions.com\/notes\/2025\/06\/27\/helium-he\/","title":{"rendered":"Helium (He)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udd39 Basic Information<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Element Name<\/strong>: Helium<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Discovered By<\/strong>: Pierre Janssen &amp; Norman Lockyer (in the Sun)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Year of Discovery<\/strong>: 1868<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Category<\/strong>: Noble Gas<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Group<\/strong>: 18 (Group 0 \u2013 Noble Gases)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>State at Room Temperature<\/strong>: Gas (colorless and odorless) \ud83d\udca8<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Helium is a <strong>very light, non-reactive gas<\/strong>. It\u2019s the <strong>second most abundant element in the universe<\/strong> (after hydrogen) and was first discovered <strong>not on Earth, but in the Sun!<\/strong> \u2600\ufe0f<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udd38 Chemical Properties<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Chemical Symbol<\/strong>: He<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Atomic Number<\/strong>: 2<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Atomic Mass<\/strong>: ~4.0026 u<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Valency<\/strong>: 0 (inert)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Electronic Configuration<\/strong>: 1s\u00b2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Helium has a <strong>full outer electron shell<\/strong>, which makes it <strong>extremely stable and unreactive<\/strong> \u2014 a typical trait of <strong>noble gases<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udcd8 Basic Things to Know<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Helium is the <strong>second lightest element<\/strong> and does <strong>not support combustion<\/strong>, which means it won\u2019t catch fire. Unlike hydrogen (which is flammable), helium is <strong>safe for balloons and blimps<\/strong>. \ud83c\udf88<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s found in <strong>natural gas reserves<\/strong> and extracted through a process called <strong>fractional distillation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83e\udd14 Interesting Facts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Helium is so light, <strong>Earth\u2019s gravity can\u2019t hold it<\/strong>, so it eventually escapes into space! \ud83c\udf0c<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It\u2019s the only element that <strong>can\u2019t become a solid<\/strong> at normal pressure \u2014 even at absolute zero! \u2744\ufe0f<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>When cooled near absolute zero, helium becomes a <strong>superfluid<\/strong> \u2014 it flows without friction. \ud83e\uddca<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Helium is used in <strong>deep-sea diving<\/strong> to prevent \u201cthe bends.\u201d \ud83e\udd3f<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It was named after the Greek word <strong>\u201cHelios\u201d<\/strong>, meaning <strong>Sun<\/strong>, because it was first spotted in solar light.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udd27 Common Uses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Balloons &amp; Blimps<\/strong>: Used because it\u2019s lighter than air and non-flammable. \ud83c\udf88<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cryogenics<\/strong>: Liquid helium cools <strong>superconducting magnets<\/strong>, such as those in MRI machines. \ud83e\uddf2\ud83e\uddec<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Welding<\/strong>: Acts as a <strong>shielding gas<\/strong> to protect metal from reacting with air. \ud83d\udd27<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Deep-Sea Diving<\/strong>: Mixed with oxygen to make <strong>breathing gas for divers<\/strong>. \ud83c\udf0a<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Scientific Research<\/strong>: Used in <strong>particle accelerators and space technology<\/strong>. \ud83d\ude80<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udcda Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Helium is more than just a party balloon gas \u2014 it\u2019s a <strong>safe, stable, and essential element<\/strong> for science, medicine, and technology. From <strong>cooling machines to lifting balloons<\/strong>, helium proves that even the <strong>lightest elements<\/strong> can have a big impact. For students, helium is a fun way to learn about <strong>gases, space, and chemistry in real life<\/strong>. \ud83d\udd2c\ud83c\udf20<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ud83d\udd39 Basic Information Helium is a very light, non-reactive gas. It\u2019s the second most abundant element &hellip; <a title=\"Helium (He)\" class=\"hm-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/texpertssolutions.com\/notes\/2025\/06\/27\/helium-he\/\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Helium (He)<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[672],"tags":[656,652,653,661,647,643,648,670,666,664,662,650,651,645,660,663,655,646,657,659,658,665,642,644,668,669,667,649,671,654],"class_list":["post-2382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-periodic-table-for-students","tag-actinides","tag-alkali-metals","tag-alkaline-earth-metals","tag-atomic-mass","tag-atomic-number","tag-chemical-elements","tag-chemical-symbols","tag-chemistry-basics","tag-chemistry-study-guide","tag-electron-configuration","tag-electronegativity","tag-element-groups","tag-element-periods","tag-element-properties","tag-halogens","tag-ionization-energy","tag-lanthanides","tag-mendeleev-periodic-table","tag-metalloids","tag-noble-gases","tag-nonmetals","tag-oxidation-states","tag-periodic-table","tag-periodic-table-elements","tag-periodic-table-explained","tag-periodic-table-facts","tag-periodic-table-for-students","tag-periodic-trends","tag-science-education","tag-transition-metals"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/texpertssolutions.com\/notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/118.png?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/texpertssolutions.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/texpertssolutions.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/texpertssolutions.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/texpertssolutions.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/texpertssolutions.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2382"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/texpertssolutions.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2413,"href":"https:\/\/texpertssolutions.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382\/revisions\/2413"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/texpertssolutions.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/texpertssolutions.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/texpertssolutions.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/texpertssolutions.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}