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Politics : Tell a joke - anything goes -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DMaA who wrote (4909)	2/12/2019 12:15:02 PM
From: Stock Puppy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13783

Helium is found in the ground - product of radioactive decay - alpha particles emitted are trapped in underground pockets and build up very slowly over geographic time. Those not trapped are released to atmosphere. Use is much faster than replenishment and there are no practical means (in amounts desired) to generate it "artificially". Even if there were a practical method to "mine" helium from the atmosphere, any helium released to the atmosphere eventually makes its way into space. Helium from space captured from space (from the sun, etc) is released just as fast. (What are our reserves though? Hmmmmm) The big thing is: for temperatures at 4K and below (-452ºF) everything else is solid. Only helium is liquid. You need lquid or gas for effective cooling. There are no substitutes. The best that could be done is a refrigeration system that recycles helium - it uses lots of energy and can be bulky. So next time you have a helium balloon and let it go - that is truly your negative legacy to some generation far in the future. All that being said - some of that price increase is political...