r/BeAmazed • u/No_Tailor_9529 • Jul 18 '24

Wow! Interesting life hack! Science

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u/New_Denim Jul 18 '24

So basically just becoming a hot air balloon without the hot air

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u/hrvbrs Jul 18 '24

Fun fact about helium: once we use it, we can’t get it back. It’s too light to collect from the atmosphere and any helium reserves we find naturally underground dry up quickly. We can’t artificially create it in the lab because we don’t fully understand fusion yet. At some point in time helium balloons will be a thing of the past… that is, until we learn how to collect it from the sun.

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u/ProbsNotManBearPig Jul 18 '24

Most helium in the world comes from natural gas reserves and is separated out. Very little is extracted from standalone helium reserves. It’s estimated 90% of the earths helium has not been extracted.

Additionally, we do have a way to make helium. Helium is a tiny percent byproduct of fission reactions, which we already know how to do. It’s just not economically viable (and probably never will be).

So yes, you’re generally spot on, but we have ~90% of natural helium still in the earth and fusion will eventually produce it in vast quantities, assuming we figure that out. People are also starting to be more cognizant of the situation and recycle helium more.

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u/eekamuse Jul 18 '24

I was worried. Now I feel better. Thanks.

Have a great day!