Helium is the second lightest and second most abundant element in the observable universe. It is a colourless, odourless, tasteless, non-toxic, and inert noble gas that sits at the top of the periodic table. It exists as a gas except under extreme conditions. It has the lowest boiling point of all the elements. Because it is a noble gas, it is chemically unreactive. It is lighter than air, which is why it is famous for making balloons.
In 1868 English astronomer Norman Lockyer observed a bright yellow line and realized it didn't match any known element on Earth. He named it "Helium" after the Greek word for the Sun, helios. However it was not until March 26, 1895, that Scottish chemist Sir William Ramsay isolated helium on Earth. How: He was treating a mineral called cleveite with mineral acids and managed to capture the gas, which was then confirmed by Lockyer and William Crookes as being the same element seen in the Sun 27 years earlier
Beyond party balloons, helium is critical for high-tech industries: Cryogenics: It is used to cool the superconducting magnets in MRI scanners. Welding: As you may have seen on gas-suppliers.co.uk, helium is used as a shielding gas in arc welding, particularly for materials like aluminium and copper that have high heat conductivity. Space Exploration: NASA uses it to pressurize fuel tanks in rockets. Technical Note: In the welding world, helium is often mixed with Argon to create a hotter arc, allowing for deeper penetration and faster welding speeds
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