The first elements — hydrogen and helium — couldn’t form until the universe had cooled enough to allow their nuclei to capture electrons (right), about 380,000 years after the Big Bang. Some of these nuclei combined to form helium as well, though in much smaller quantities (just a few percent).

Where on earth is helium found? Wherever large deposits of uranium are located, Helium will also be found. Most of the world’s Helium comes as a byproduct of decaying uranium and fossil fuels. Today, the world’s Helium supply relies on reserves in the United States, the Middle East, Russia and North Africa.

First discovered in the corona surrounding the sun and later found in gases leaking from Mount Vesuvius, helium is the second-most abundant element in the universe. The second element on the Periodic Table of Elements is inert, colorless and odorless — but far from boring.

Lighter than air Helium is one of lightest and least dense of all the chemical elements, thanks to the chemical stability and extremely small size of single helium atoms. Helium’s low density is what causes balloons filled with the gas to float, buoyed up by the denser surrounding air.

Helium is the only element that cannot be solidified by sufficient cooling at normal atmospheric pressure; it is necessary to apply pressure of 25 atmospheres at a temperature of 1 K (−272 °C, or −458 °F) to convert it to its solid form. Properties of helium.

Helium is the only element that cannot be solidified by lowering the temperature at ordinary pressures. ‘Ordinary’ referring to standard air pressure (1 atmosphere). In order to solidify, there needs to be a corresponding pressure increase, with a projected density of: 0.187±0.009 g mL−1 at 0 K and 25 bar.

Helium can be made solid at room temperature if the pressure rises to about 114 thousand atmospheres: that is a pressure of 1.67 million psi, or 834 tons per square inch. This is over 100 times greater than the pressure at the oceans’ deepest point, the Challenger Deep, which is almost seven miles deep (10 916 meters).

Because it is very unreactive, helium is used to provide an inert protective atmosphere for making fibre optics and semiconductors, and for arc welding. Helium is also used to detect leaks, such as in car air-conditioning systems, and because it diffuses quickly it is used to inflate car airbags after impact.

10 Uses for Helium: More Than Balloons and Blimps

• Heliox mixtures in respiratory treatments for asthma, bronchitis and other lung deficiencies.
• MRI magnets.
• High speed Internet and Cable TV.
• Mobile phone, computer and tablet chips.
• Computer hard drives.
• Cleaning rocket fuel tanks.
• Microscopes.
• Airbags.

Helium gas is combined with oxygen for the treatment of asthma, emphysema, and other respiratory problems, not for the treatment of the underlying disease, but it is used to reduce airways resistance and respiratory muscle work until definitive treatments act.

the United States

Explosive growth in the semiconductor and healthcare industries, as well as space and quantum computing, has been increasing global demand in helium. In the United States, helium is extracted from wells in Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Texas is home to the Federal Helium Reserve.

Argon can be used instead of Helium and is preferred for certain types of metal. Helium is used for lots of lighter than air applications and Hydrogen is a suitable replacement for many where the flammable nature of Hydrogen is not an issue.

If you wanted to invest in helium, the simplest path would be to buy up stock in a helium producer or storage company. A good derivative play would be to invest in clowns.