Who discovered helium on earth. Where was helium first discovered? Inert but much needed helium

Back in 1869, in the first message about the periodic law of Mendeleev, speaking about the directions in which one should search for the "bricks of the universe" not yet discovered, he indirectly indicated the probability of the existence of helium. He wrote: “If it is possible to express a wish, looking at the attached table, it seems to me the most desirable to replenish the number of elements that are closer to hydrogen. Those elements, which will represent the transition from hydrogen to boron and carbon, will, of course, constitute the most important scientific acquisition that can only be expected when meeting with newly discovered simple bodies. "

Around the same time, astronomers discovered the sun in the atmosphere. There were several reasons why this discovery went unnoticed or unappreciated by chemists for quite some time. First, the reality of the existence of the new was questioned; secondly, the event took place in the astronomical world, distant to chemists, and finally, some people thought that if such a substance did exist, it was too far from the Earth and earthly interests.

The roots of this astronomical event are easy to trace. It was generated by a discovery that in 1860 became known to the scientific world, when German scientists G. Kirchhoff and R. Bunsen published their famous article "Chemical analysis by observing the spectrum." This discovery has provided natural scientists with a powerful tool for studying the qualitative composition of any object - near or distant - so long as its light can reach the eye of the observer. It became possible to detect the presence of very small quantities not only on the globe, but also beyond it in the incandescent atmosphere of the Sun and other celestial bodies, distant from the Earth by a space of thousands of light years.

Spectral analysis has yielded abundant results. During only the first two years following the discovery of the new method, Bunsen, using a spectroscope, discovered new elements in minerals and then isolated new elements from them - and, Crooks found in pyrite cinders, and German scientists Reich and Richter -.

The very first stage in the application of spectral analysis was so brilliant. In the XX century. its capabilities have expanded enormously. It has become a method of not only qualitative but also quantitative analysis, a method for determining the atomic and molecular composition of substances. Based on the study of spectra, they now judge the physical state of celestial bodies and their distance from the Earth, determine the brightness of stars, their surface temperature, the density of the stellar atmosphere and much more. But perhaps the most profound and important application, found spectral analysis in the study of the finest details in the structure of the electronic shells of atoms, in the knowledge of the laws of the microworld.

One can understand the impatience with which astronomers expected the total solar eclipse of 1868.They were going to use the spectroscope for the first time to study the atmosphere of the Sun and resolve important question: Are there solar prominences and what is their nature?

Prominences are red luminous protrusions (torches) at the edges of the solar disk, visible to the naked eye only during total eclipse. Oddly enough, but these gigantic torches were first noticed only in 1842 by the English astronomer Boyle. His message was received with great skepticism; the prevailing opinion was that there was an optical illusion. But the subsequent total eclipses of 1851, and especially 1860, forced most scientists to reconsider their positions. Astronomers who came to Spain in 1860 were able to see the fiery protrusions with their own eyes, some even managed to sketch them, photograph and notice that they are constantly changing their shape.

Various guesses have emerged regarding the nature of this phenomenon. Some believed that these were lunar mountains, illuminated by the rays of the Sun. Others tended to see them as mountains on the Sun itself. But the most astute of scientists have stated that they are gigantic columns of incandescent gases emitted by explosions of monstrous force occurring within the Sun. A newly invented spectroscope would have helped a lot, but it so happened that in preparation for observation, they forgot about it and remembered only after the eclipse.

But during the eclipse of 1868, astronomers at various points of the globe were already pointing spectroscopes at the Sun. Among the observers was the Frenchman Jansen, who took a long trip to the east coast of India for this, where the visibility of the sun's corona promised to be the best. On the same day, he sent a telegram from the Indian town of Guntur to the French Academy of Sciences: “There was an eclipse, prominences, a wonderful unexpected spectrum. The prominences are composed of gases. "

Janssen managed to adjust the slit of the spectroscope so that the line spectrum of the sun's corona could be observed not only during an eclipse, but also on ordinary days. The next morning, he noticed in the spectrum of the corona, along with the familiar lines of hydrogen - blue, green-blue and red - a very bright yellow line. This line was seen by several other astronomers on the day of the eclipse. At first, it was taken for the D line of sodium, since they were similar in color and location.

But after a couple of months, Janssen and the Englishman Lockyer found that the bright yellow line in the solar spectrum does not coincide with the sodium line and, in general, there is no such line in the spectra of elements known on our planet. Subsequently, she was assigned the symbol D3.

Without delay, Jansen sent a letter to the Academy, where he stated his observations and described new method spectroscopic investigation, suitable at all times. A letter from distant India took a long time and arrived in Paris only on October 24, 1868. On the same day, but a few hours earlier, the Academy received a letter from London, written just four days ago by Lockyer. This astronomer also discovered a way to observe prominences outside an eclipse and also found the yellow line D3; its brightness is so great that it would be difficult not to notice it.

The next day, both letters were read out at a meeting of the Academy. The two messages from different parts of the world were completely consistent with each other. A method has been discovered that allows you to start penetrating the secrets of cosmic bodies! The French academy has decided to strike a medal in honor of the outstanding event. On one side of the medal were embossed portraits of Jean-sen and Lockyer above the crossed branches of laurel, and on the other - the image of the mythical sun god Apollo, ruling in a chariot with four horses galloping at full speed. Around the edge of the medal is the inscription: "Analysis of solar ledges of 1868".

It must be emphasized that it was in honor of the new method of studying prominences and distant stars, and not the discovery of a new element, that a medal was struck. The question of what substance the line »D3 corresponds to remained unresolved for a long time.

A year later, Rayet suggested that the incandescent gas, the rays of which give a mysterious yellow line, together with hydrogen, make up the solar atmosphere. Two more years passed, and Lockyer (together with Frankland) called this substance helium, but he himself was not sure that this was really a new simple substance, and not some kind of metal or a kind of hydrogen that was not found on Earth. Other scientists have hypothesized that this is a heavy formula H4. The Italian Secchi, apparently, was the first to dare to conclude that there is an element on the Sun, unknown on Earth. All astronomers' knowledge about the nature and properties of helium was limited to the idea of \u200b\u200bthe features of its spectrum. This knowledge allowed them, however, to detect a number of stars in the atmosphere.

As for scientists of other specialties, they were not very interested in helium, since no one had met it on Earth.

In 1881 in the scientific world an event happened - insignificant in essence, but gave rise to fierce disputes, which have not ended to this day. In that year, the Italian Palmieri published a report on his discovery of helium in volcanic gases (fumaroles). This was the first indication of the presence of helium on Earth.

Palmieri examined a light yellow solid oily substance deposited from gas streams at the edges of the Vesuvius crater. The scientist calcined this volcanic product in the flame of a Bunsen burner and observed the spectrum of the evolved gases.

However, Palmieri described his experience unclear, performing spectral analysis in such conditions was extremely difficult, so the scientific community received his message with disbelief. And only many years later, when the presence of helium in the gases of the earth's crust was recognized as an indisputable fact, they began to study the composition of fumaroles and found very small amounts of helium and argon in them.

Meanwhile, Rayleigh and Ramsay continued to study what they discovered. In January 1895, scientists made a report to the Royal Society of England about unsuccessful attempts to obtain chemical compounds of argon with other elements. Mineralogist Myers listened to their performance. He recalled an article by the analytical chemist Gillebrand, who specialized in the analysis of minerals and rocks, and therefore published his article in a geological journal, which chemists rarely looked at. An article written four years ago reported similar experiments with gas extracted from the uranite mineral (resin blende) by boiling with sulfuric acid or melting with soda. Even then, the author drew attention to the fact that the amount of gas released is directly dependent on the uranium content in the mineral. Gillebrand concluded that the gas he discovered was. After all, the gas was colorless, tasteless and odorless, did not dissolve in water and did not oxidize.

The next morning, Myers sent Ramsay a letter in which he drew his attention to the article mentioned and advised him to find out: maybe Gillebrand was dealing not with nitrogen, but with argon?

After receiving the letter, Ramsay sent his assistants to buy uranium. Bypassing all London chemical stores, they were able to collect about 30 g of cloveite - a rare mineral containing, and. Cleveite was found in Norway by the famous polar explorer Nordenskjold.

Ramsay boiled the samples in dilute sulfuric acid for a long time, collecting the evolved bubbles in a gas meter. In March, he collected 20 cm3 of colorless gas. Ramsay transferred the gas into a glass tube, narrow in the middle and widened at the ends, and sealed it by inserting platinum wires into the ends. When passing electric current the gas in the tube is ionized; thermal excitation of atoms also occurred, as a result of which the gas was light and its spectrum could be observed.

Of course, Ramsay was very satisfied, seeing the blue, orange and green lines that he expected, characteristic of the argon spectrum, but let's say right away that here he fell into a mistake, which he realized only later. penetrated into the tube from the air during the preparation of the experiment. And now, observing the spectrum of argon, the scientist was shocked; he saw a brilliant yellow line that was almost in position with the sodium D line, but still clearly distinct from it. This line was so unexpected that Ramsay repeated his observations several times. But there was no doubt that some new substance was present in the tube.

The outstanding spectroscopist of the time, Crookes, lived in London. Ramsay sent him his gas pipe for detailed examination. In a cover letter, he said that he had discovered a new gas, which he gave the name "krypton" (Greek for "secretive"). Crookes on the same evening made an analysis and the next morning telegraphed: "Krypton is a point, come see a point." And when Ramsay arrived, Crookes showed him not only the D3 line, but also a number of other lines in the spectrum of helium - red, blue, violet, which, as less bright, astronomers could not distinguish in the spectrum of the Sun. Moreover, the D3 line itself turned out to consist of two closely spaced lines; this subsequently caused doubts among many scientists about the identity of "earthly" and "solar" helium. However, a little time passed, and astronomers, using spectroscopes with a higher resolving power, found exactly the same double line in the spectrum of the solar prominence. So astrophysical observations were corrected when studying on Earth.

The last century was marked by the discovery of many chemical elements, but there were also many erroneous "discoveries". Usually each pioneer strove to assert his priority as soon as possible. Ramsay did the same. On the same day (March 23, 1895) he sent a message about his discovery of helium on Earth to the Royal Society, as well as to the French Academy through the famous chemist Berthelot. Two weeks later, Berthelot received a similar message from the Swedish chemist Langle; not knowing about Ramsay's experiments, Langle also obtained helium from kleveite.

Soon, helium was found in a number of minerals and rocks, especially in those where or (the connection between these elements and helium was found out much later). Helium was also found in the gases of the Wilbad springs in Germany and in individual meteorites.

Having at his disposal very little helium, Ramsay nevertheless established that this gas is chemically inert, as well as, and in lightness is second only to hydrogen.

But as long as helium is present in the earth's crust, it must constantly enter the atmosphere, volatilizing there with gases from water sources, as well as through the pores and cracks of rocks. The first attempts to find it in the air, made by Rayleigh, Ramsay and other researchers, were unsuccessful. In this regard, statements appeared that, due to its lightness, helium, like

Helium is the second ordinal element of the periodic system of chemical elements of D. I. Mendeleev, with atomic number 2. Located in the main subgroup of the eighth group, the first period periodic system... Leads the noble gas group on the periodic table. It is designated by the symbol He (Latin Helium). The simple substance helium (CAS number: 7440-59-7) is an inert monoatomic gas without color, taste or smell. Helium is one of the most abundant elements in the Universe, second only to hydrogen. Also, helium is the second lightest (after hydrogen) chemical element. Helium is extracted from natural gas by a low-temperature separation process - the so-called fractional distillation

On August 18, 1868, the French scientist Pierre Jansen, during a total solar eclipse in the Indian city of Guntur, first explored the chromosphere of the Sun. Janssen was able to tune the spectroscope in such a way that the spectrum of the sun's corona could be observed not only during an eclipse, but also on ordinary days. The next day, spectroscopy of solar prominences, along with hydrogen lines - blue, green-blue and red - revealed a very bright yellow line, originally taken by Janssen and other astronomers who observed it for the sodium D line. Janssen immediately wrote about this to the French Academy of Sciences. Subsequently, it was found that the bright yellow line in the solar spectrum does not coincide with the sodium line and does not belong to any of the previously known chemical elements.

Two months later, on October 20, the English astronomer Norman Lockyer, not knowing about the developments of his French colleague, also conducted studies of the solar spectrum. Having found an unknown yellow line with a wavelength of 588 nm (more precisely 587.56 nm), he designated it D3, since it was very close to the Fraunhofer lines D 1 (589.59 nm) and D 2 (588.99 nm) sodium. Two years later, Lockyer, together with the English chemist Edward Frankland, in cooperation with whom he worked, proposed to give the new element the name "helium" (from ancient Greek ἥλιος - "sun").

It is interesting that the letters from Janssen and Lockyer arrived at the French Academy of Sciences on the same day - October 24, 1868, but Lockyer's letter, written by him four days earlier, arrived several hours earlier. The next day, both letters were read out at a meeting of the Academy. In honor of the new method of investigating prominences, the French Academy decided to strike a medal. On one side of the medal were embossed portraits of Jansen and Lockyer above the crossed branches of laurel, and on the other - the image of the mythical sun god Apollo, ruling four horses in a chariot, galloping at full speed.

In 1881, the Italian Luigi Palmieri published a report on his discovery of helium in volcanic gases (fumaroles). He investigated a light yellow oily substance deposited from gas jets at the edges of the Vesuvius crater. Palmieri ignited this volcanic product in the flame of a Bunsen burner and observed the spectrum of gases released during this. Academic circles greeted this message with disbelief, as Palmieri described his experience unclear. After many years, small amounts of helium and argon were indeed found in the fumaroles.

Only 27 years after its initial discovery, helium was discovered on Earth - in 1895, Scottish chemist William Ramsay, examining a sample of gas obtained from the decomposition of the mineral cleveite, discovered in its spectrum the same bright yellow line found earlier in the solar spectrum. The sample was sent for additional research to the famous English spectroscopist William Crookes, who confirmed that the yellow line observed in the spectrum of the sample coincides with the D3 line of helium. On March 23, 1895, Ramsay sent a message about his discovery of helium on Earth to the Royal Society of London, as well as to the French Academy through the famous chemist Marceline Berthelot.

In 1896, Heinrich Kaiser, Siegbert Friedlander, and two years later, Edward Bailey finally proved the presence of helium in the atmosphere.

Even before Ramsay, helium was also isolated by the American chemist Francis Hillebrand, but he mistakenly believed that he had received nitrogen and in a letter to Ramsay acknowledged the priority of the discovery.
Investigating various substances and minerals, Ramsay discovered that helium in them accompanies uranium and thorium. But only much later, in 1906, Rutherford and Royds established that the alpha particles of radioactive elements are helium nuclei. These studies laid the foundation for the modern theory of atomic structure.

Only in 1908 did the Dutch physicist Heike Kamerling-Onnes manage to obtain liquid helium by throttling (see the Joule-Thomson effect), after the gas had been pre-cooled in liquid hydrogen boiling under vacuum. Attempts to obtain solid helium for a long time remained unsuccessful even at a temperature of 0.71 K, which was reached by a student of Kamerling-Onnes, the German physicist Willem Hendrik Kees. Only in 1926, applying a pressure above 35 atm and cooling compressed helium in liquid helium boiling under rarefaction, he managed to isolate crystals.

In 1932, Keesom investigated the nature of the change in the heat capacity of liquid helium with temperature. He found that around 2.19 K, a slow and smooth rise in heat capacity gives way to a sharp drop, and the heat capacity curve takes the shape of the Greek letter λ (lambda). Hence, the temperature at which the jump in heat capacity occurs is given the conventional name "λ-point". A more accurate value of the temperature at this point, established later, is 2.172 K. At the λ-point, deep and abrupt changes in the fundamental properties of liquid helium occur - one phase of liquid helium changes at this point to another, and without the release of latent heat; a second-order phase transition takes place. Above the λ-point temperature there is so-called helium-I, and below it - helium-II.

In 1938, Soviet physicist Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa discovered the phenomenon of superfluidity of liquid helium-II, which consists in a sharp decline coefficient of viscosity, as a result of which helium flows practically without friction. This is what he wrote in one of his reports about the discovery of this phenomenon.

origin of name

From the Greek. ἥλιος - "The sun" (see Helios). It is curious that in the name of the element the ending "-ii" (in Latin "-um" - "Helium") was used in the name of the element, since Lockyer assumed that the element he discovered was a metal. By analogy with other noble gases, it would be logical to give it the name "Helion". IN modern science the name "helion" was assigned to the nucleus of the light helium isotope - helium-3.

Prevalence

In the Universe
Helium is the second most abundant in the Universe after hydrogen - about 23% by mass. However, helium is rare on Earth. Almost all helium in the Universe was formed in the first few minutes after the Big Bang, during the primary nucleosynthesis. In the modern Universe, almost all new helium is formed as a result of thermonuclear fusion from hydrogen in the interiors of stars (see proton-proton cycle, carbon-nitrogen cycle). On Earth, it is formed as a result of the alpha decay of heavy elements (the alpha particles emitted during alpha decay are helium-4 nuclei). Part of the helium produced during alpha decay and seeping through the rocks of the earth's crust is captured by natural gas, the concentration of helium in which can reach 7% of the volume and above ..

Earth's crust
Within the framework of the eighth group, helium in terms of content in the earth's crust takes the second place (after argon). The content of helium in the atmosphere (formed as a result of the decay of Ac, Th, U) is 5.27 × 10−4% by volume, 7.24 × 10−5% by mass. The reserves of helium in the atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere are estimated at 5 × 1014 m³. Helium-bearing natural gases typically contain up to 2% helium by volume. Accumulations of gases, the helium content of which reaches 8 - 16%, are extremely rare. The average helium content in terrestrial matter is 3 g / t. The highest concentration of helium is observed in minerals containing uranium, thorium, and samarium: cleveite, fergusonite, samarskite, gadolinite, monazite (monazite sands in India and Brazil), thorianite. The content of helium in these minerals is 0.8 - 3.5 l / kg, and in thorianite it reaches 10.5 l / kg

Definition

Qualitatively, helium is determined by analyzing the emission spectra (characteristic lines 587.56 nm and 388.86 nm), quantitatively - by mass spectrometric and chromatographic methods of analysis, as well as by methods based on measuring physical properties (density, thermal conductivity, etc.)

Chemical properties

Helium is the least chemically active element of the eighth group of the periodic table (inert gases). Many helium compounds exist only in the gas phase in the form of so-called excimer molecules, in which the excited electronic states are stable and the ground state is unstable. Helium forms diatomic molecules He 2 +, fluoride HeF, chloride HeCl (excimer molecules are formed under the action of an electric discharge or ultraviolet radiation on a mixture of helium with fluorine or chlorine). The chemical compound of helium LiHe is known (possibly, the compound LiHe 7

Receiving

In industry, helium is obtained from helium-containing natural gases (at present, mainly deposits containing\u003e 0.1% helium are exploited). Helium is separated from other gases by deep cooling, using the fact that it is liquefied more difficult than all other gases. Cooling is performed by throttling in several stages, purifying it from CO 2 and hydrocarbons. The result is a mixture of helium, neon and hydrogen. This mixture, the so-called. crude helium, (He - 70-90% vol.) is purified from hydrogen (4-5%) using CuO at 650-800 K. The final purification is achieved by cooling the remaining mixture with boiling N2 under vacuum and adsorption of impurities on active carbon in adsorbers, also cooled with liquid N2. They produce helium of technical purity (99.80% by volume of helium) and high purity (99.985%). In Russia, gaseous helium is obtained from natural and petroleum gases. At present, helium is extracted at the helium plant of Gazprom Dobycha Orenburg in Orenburg from gas with a low content of helium (up to 0.055% by volume), therefore, Russian helium has a high cost. An urgent problem is the development and complex processing of natural gases from large deposits of Eastern Siberia with a high content of helium (0.15-1% vol.), Which will significantly reduce its cost. The USA is the leader in helium production (140 million m³ per year), followed by Algeria (16 million m³). Russia ranks third in the world - 6 million m³ per year. The world reserves of helium are 45.6 billion m³.

On August 18, 1868, the French scientist Pierre Jansen, being during a total solar eclipse in the Indian city of Guntur, first explored the Sun's chromosphere - its outer shell. Janssen was able to tune the spectroscope in such a way that the spectrum of the sun's corona could be observed not only during an eclipse, but also on ordinary days. The very next day, while studying prominences (masses of relatively cold matter that rise and are held above the surface of the Sun by a magnetic field), in the results of spectroscopy, Janssen discovered not only the blue, green-blue and red hydrogen lines, but also a very bright yellow one, which the astronomer and his colleagues initially mistook sodium for the line.

Two months later, on October 20, the English astronomer Norman Lockyer, not knowing about the developments of his French colleague, also carried out studies of the solar spectrum.

Finding an unknown yellow line with a wavelength of 588 nm, he designated it D3.

Letters from Janssen and Lockyer about the discovery of a new line of the solar spectrum arrived in France on the same day - October 24, 1868, but Lockyer's letter, written by him four days earlier, arrived several hours earlier. The next day, both letters were read out at a meeting of the Academy. In honor of the new method of investigating prominences, the French Academy decided to strike a medal. On one side of the medal, portraits of Jansen and Lockyer were embossed over the crossed branches of laurel, and on the other - the image of the mythological god of light Apollo, ruling four horses in a chariot, galloping at full speed.

Lockyer tried to recreate new spectral lines in laboratory conditions, but all his attempts ended in failure. Then he realized that he had discovered a new chemical element. Lockyer named it helium, from the Greek helios - "Sun".

The attitude of scientists to the discovery of helium was controversial. Some assumed that a mistake was made in the interpretation of the spectra of prominences, but this point of view received fewer and fewer supporters, as more and more astronomers were able to observe the Lockyer lines. Others argued that there are elements on the Sun that are not on Earth, which contradicted the idea that all the laws of nature we currently know have worked and will always work at all points in the universe. Still others (they were in the minority) believed that someday helium would be found on Earth as well.

However, they were the ones who turned out to be right. In 1895, Scottish chemist William Ramsay, while examining a sample of gas obtained from the decomposition of the mineral cleveite, discovered unknown lines in its spectrum and sent the samples to several colleagues for analysis. Upon receiving the sample, Lockyer immediately recognized the lines that he had observed in sunlight over a quarter of a century ago. The riddle of helium has been solved: the gas is undoubtedly in the sun, but it also exists here on Earth.

Helium is the second most abundant element in the Universe, accounting for 23% of the entire cosmic mass.

However, it is rare on Earth. This element is one of the products of nuclear decay, therefore its source is the ores of radioactive elements.

By the beginning of the twentieth century, the presence of helium in the Earth's atmosphere was finally proved. In 1906, physicists managed to obtain liquid helium, and in 1926 - to achieve its crystallization. In 1938, a Soviet physicist discovered the phenomenon of superfluidity of liquid helium-II, which consists in a sharp decrease in the viscosity coefficient, as a result of which helium flows practically without friction.

In industry, helium is obtained from helium-containing natural gases. Helium is separated from other gases by deep cooling, using the fact that it is liquefied more difficult than all other gases.

Helium was first used in Germany. In 1915, the Germans began to fill their airships that were bombing London with it. Soon, light, but non-combustible gas became an indispensable filler for aeronautics. The decline in airship construction, which began in the mid-1930s, resulted in a certain decline in helium production, but only for a short time. This gas increasingly attracted the attention of chemists, metallurgists and machine builders.

Today, helium is used in the food industry as a propellant and packaging gas, as a refrigerant for obtaining ultra-low temperatures, for filling balloons and shells of meteorological probes, for filling filament flasks. lED lamps, which allows you to effectively remove heat from LED filaments, for finding leaks in pipelines and boilers, as a carrier in gas chromatography and in many other areas.

Liquid helium is widely used in scientific research and technology. Ultra-low temperatures favor in-depth knowledge of the substance and its structure - with more high temperatures fine details of the energy spectra are masked by the thermal motion of the atoms.

Helio-oxygen mixtures have become a reliable means of preventing decompression sickness and have given a large gain in time when lifting divers.

The solubility of gases in liquids, other things being equal, is directly proportional to pressure. Divers working under high pressure have much more nitrogen in their blood compared to normal conditions on the surface of the water. When rising from a depth, when the pressure approaches normal, the solubility of nitrogen decreases, and its excess begins to be released. If the rise is made quickly, the release of excess dissolved gases occurs so violently that the blood and water-rich tissues of the body, saturated with gas, literally foam with a mass of nitrogen bubbles.

The formation of nitrogen bubbles in the blood vessels disrupts the work of the heart, their appearance in the brain disrupts its functions, all this leads to severe disorders of the body's vital functions and, as a result, to death. In order to prevent the development of the described phenomena, the rise of divers is very slow.

In this case, the excess of dissolved gases is released gradually, and no painful disorders occur. By using artificial air, in which nitrogen is replaced by less soluble helium, the possibility of harmful disorders is almost completely eliminated. This makes it possible to increase the depth of diving (up to 100 meters or more) and the time spent under water.

"Helium" air has a density three times less than that of ordinary air. Therefore, breathing with such air is easier than usual (the work of the respiratory muscles decreases). This circumstance has essential with respiratory diseases. Therefore, "helium" air is also used in medicine for the treatment of asthma, suffocation and other diseases.

In addition, helium is a convenient indicator for geologists.

With the help of helium survey, it is possible to determine the location of deep faults on the Earth's surface. Helium as a decay product of radioactive elements that saturate the upper layer of the earth's crust seeps through cracks and rises into the atmosphere. Near such cracks, and especially at their intersection, the concentration of helium is higher. This regularity is used to study the deep structure of the Earth and search for ores of non-ferrous and rare metals.

Defies the laws of classical mechanics. Scientists are trying to solve the mystery of helium-4. It is a lightweight, non-radioactive isotope of the element. It actually accounts for 99.9% of the helium on Earth.

So, if the 4th isotope is cooled to -271 degrees Celsius, you get a liquid. But its properties are not typical for a liquid. Superfluidity is observed, for example.

If you put helium into the vessel and put it upright, the liquid will violate the laws of gravity. After a few minutes, the contents of the container will drain out. From this it follows that helium - elementcurious, but curiosity must be satisfied. Let's start with the properties of the substance.

Helium properties

Not. This is not a particle of negation, but the designation of the 2nd element of the periodic system, that is, helium. Gasin its normal state, it thickens only at sub-zero temperatures. Moreover, this minus should be a couple of hundred degrees Celsius.

Moreover, in helium gas propertieswater insolubility is inscribed. That is, if he himself is not, then his molecules are in one phase, without passing into others. Meanwhile, it is the change in the phases of a substance that determines the formation of a solution.

Helium is an inert gas... Its inertness is manifested not only in the absence of a "desire" to dissolve in water. The substance is in no hurry to enter into other reactions. Reason: - stable outer shell of the atom.

There are 2 electrons on it. It is difficult to break a strong pair, that is, to remove one of the particles from the shell of an atom. Therefore, helium was discovered not in the course of chemical experiments, but in the spectroscopic study of prominences.

It happened in the second half of the 19th century. Other inert gases, and there are 6 of them, were discovered even later. At about the same time, that is, at the beginning of the 20th century, it was possible to convert helium into liquid form.

Helium - monoatomicgas without, taste and smell. This is also an expression of the inertness of the element. He communicates with only three "colleagues" according to the periodic table, -, and. The reaction itself will not start.

We need ultraviolet light, or current discharges. But for the helium to "escape" from a test tube, or other volumetric body, no effort is needed. The 2nd element has the smallest adsorption, that is, the ability to concentrate on a plane or in a volume.

Store helium gas in cylinders... They must be completely sealed. Otherwise, adsorption will play a cruel joke with suppliers. The substance will seep through the slightest crevices. And whether the cylinders are made of porous material, helium will escape through it.

Helium gas density7 times inferior to oxygen. The indicator of the latter is 1.3 kilograms per cubic meter. Helium has a density of only 0.2 kilograms. Accordingly, the hero is light. Molar mass of helium equal to 4 grams per mole.

For comparison, the air as a whole has an indicator of 29 grams. It becomes clear why it is popular helium for balloons... The difference in the masses of the 2nd element and air is spent on lifting loads. Let's remember that a mole is equal to 22 liters. It turns out that 22 liters of helium are capable of lifting a 25 gram weight. A cubic meter of gas will pull more than a kilogram.

Finally, we note that helium has excellent electrical conductivity. At least this applies to gases. Among them, the 2nd is no longer in second, but in first place. But in terms of content on Earth, helium is not a leader. In the atmosphere of the planet of the hero of the article, millions of percent So where does the gas come from then? It is inappropriate to fish him out of the atmosphere.

Extraction of helium

Helium formulais a component not only of the atmosphere, but also of the natural one. The content of the 2nd element is also different in different deposits. B, for example, deposits are richest in helium The Far East and the east of Siberia.

However, the gas fields in these regions are poorly developed. The 0.2-0.8 percent content of helium encourages their development. So far, it is being mined only at one field in the country. It is located in Orenburg, recognized as poor in helium. Nevertheless, 5,000,000 cubic meters of gas are produced annually.

The global production of helium per year is 175,000,000 cubic meters... At the same time, gas reserves are 41 billion cubic meters. Most of them are hidden in the bowels of Algeria, Qatar and the United States. also included in the list.

Helium is obtained from natural gas by low-temperature condensation. It turns out a concentrate of the 2nd element with its content of at least 80%. Another 20% are argon, neon, methane, and nitrogen. What gas is heliuminterferes? No. But, impurities interfere with people. Therefore, the concentrate is purified by converting 80% of the 2nd element to 100%.

The problem is that we also have a 100% certainty that the planet will have a helium deficit. By 2030, global gas consumption is expected to reach 300,000,000 cubic meters.

Helium production in 10 years will not be able to step over the bar of 240 million due to a shortage of raw materials. It is an irreplaceable resource. The second is released bit by bit during the decay of radioactive rocks.

The speed of natural production cannot keep up with the needs of people. Therefore, experts predict a sharp jump in helium. So far, the low is being devalued by the sale of the US reserve fund, which has become unprofitable for the country to maintain.

The national reserve was created at the beginning of the last century in order to fill military airships and commercial aircraft. The store is located in Texas.

Helium application

You can find helium in rocket fuel tanks. There the second one is adjacent to liquid hydrogen. At the same time, only helium is able to remain gaseous, which means that it creates the required pressure in the engine tanks.

Filling balloons is another thing that comes in handy gas helium. Carbonic, for example, it will not work because it is heavy. Lighter than helium only one gas, this is hydrogen. Only now, it is explosive.

At the beginning of the last century, the Hindenburg airship was filled with hydrogen, and we watched it ignite during the flight. Since then, it has been made in favor of inert, albeit slightly heavier, helium.

Helium is also popular as a cooling agent. The application is associated with the ability of the gas to generate ultra-low temperatures. Helium is purchased for hadron colliders and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers. They also use the 2nd element in MRI machines. There helium is pumped into the superconducting ones.

Many had MRI scans. Close to the mass consumer and scanners at the checkout, reading barcodes. So, helium and neon have been pumped into shop lasers. Separately, helium is placed in ion microscopes. They give a better picture than electronic ones, one might say they also read data.

In air conditioning systems, the 2nd is needed to diagnose leaks. The super-permeability of the hero of the article comes in handy. If it finds where to leak, then other components may also "leak".

It's about air conditioning systems for cars. By the way, the airbags are also filled with helium. It seeps into the rescue containers faster than other gases.

Helium price

Bye, on gas helium priceequal to about 1,300 rubles for one and a half cubic meters. They hold 10 liters of the 2nd element. There are cylinders and 40 liters each. This is almost 6 cubic meters of helium. The price tag for 40 liter packs is approximately 4,500.

By the way, for greater tightness, protective covers are put on gas cylinders. They also cost, usually, about 300 rubles for a 40-liter container and 150 rubles for cylinders for 10 liters.

Helium (He) - inert gas, which is the second element of the periodic table of elements, as well as the second element in terms of lightness and prevalence in the Universe. It belongs to simple substances and under standard conditions (Standard temperature and pressure) is a monoatomic gas.

Helium has no taste, color, odor and does not contain toxins.

Among all simple substances, helium has the lowest boiling point (T \u003d 4.216 K). It is impossible to obtain solid helium at atmospheric pressure, even at temperatures close to absolute zero - for the transition to a solid form, helium needs a pressure above 25 atmospheres. There are few chemical compounds of helium and all of them are unstable under standard conditions.
Naturally occurring helium is composed of two stable isotopes, He and 4He. Isotope "He" is very rare (isotopic abundance 0.00014%) at 99.99986% in the isotope 4He. In addition to natural, 6 artificial radioactive isotopes of helium are also known.
The appearance of practically everything in the Universe, helium, was the primary nucleosynthesis that took place in the first minutes after the Big Bang.
Currently, almost all helium is formed from hydrogen as a result of thermonuclear fusion that occurs in the bowels of stars. On our planet, helium is formed during the alpha decay of heavy elements. That part of helium, which manages to seep through the Earth's crust, comes out as part of natural gas and can be up to 7% of its composition. To highlight helium from natural gas, fractional distillation is used - a process of low-temperature separation of elements.

History of the discovery of helium

A total solar eclipse was expected on 18 August 1868. Astronomers around the world have been actively preparing for this day. They hoped to solve the mystery of prominences - luminous protrusions visible at the time of a total solar eclipse at the edges of the solar disk. Some astronomers believed that the prominences are high lunar mountains, which at the time of a total solar eclipse are illuminated by the rays of the Sun; others thought the prominences were mountains on the sun itself; still others saw fiery clouds of the solar atmosphere in the solar projections. The majority believed that prominences were nothing more than an optical illusion.

In 1851, during a solar eclipse observed in Europe, the German astronomer Schmidt not only saw the solar protrusions, but also managed to see that their outlines were changing over time. Based on his observations, Schmidt concluded that prominences are incandescent gas clouds ejected into the solar atmosphere by giant eruptions. However, even after Schmidt's observations, many astronomers still considered the fiery protrusions to be an illusion.

Only after the total eclipse of July 18, 1860, which was observed in Spain, when many astronomers saw the solar protrusions with their own eyes, and the Italian Secchi and the Frenchman Dellar managed not only to sketch, but also to photograph them, no one doubted the existence of prominences. ...

By 1860, the spectroscope had already been invented - a device that makes it possible, by observing the visible part of the optical spectrum, to determine the qualitative composition of the body from which the observed spectrum is obtained. However, on the day of the solar eclipse, none of the astronomers used a spectroscope to examine the spectrum of prominences. They remembered about the spectroscope when the eclipse had already ended.

That is why, in preparation for the solar eclipse of 1868, every astronomer included a spectroscope in the list of instruments for observation. Jules Janssen, a famous French scientist, did not forget this device when he set off to observe prominences in India, where the conditions for observing a solar eclipse, according to astronomers' calculations, were the best.

At the moment when the sparkling disk of the Sun was completely covered by the Moon, Jules Jansen, examining the orange-red flames escaping from the surface of the Sun with a spectroscope, saw in the spectrum, in addition to three familiar hydrogen lines: red, green-blue and blue, a new one, unfamiliar - bright yellow. None of the substances known to chemists of that time had such a line in the part of the spectrum where it was discovered by Jules Jansen. The same discovery, but at home in England, was made by the astronomer Norman Lockyer.

On October 25, 1868, the Paris Academy of Sciences received two letters. One, written the day after the solar eclipse, came from Guntur, a small town on the east coast of India, from Jules Jansen; another letter, dated October 20, 1868, was from England from Norman Lockyer.

The letters received were read out at a meeting of the professors of the Paris Academy of Sciences. In them, Jules Janssen and Norman Lockyer, independently of one another, reported the discovery of the same "solar matter". This new substance, found on the surface of the Sun with the help of a spectroscope, Lokier proposed to call helium from the Greek word for "sun" - "helios".

This coincidence surprised the scientific meeting of professors of the Academies and at the same time testified to the objective nature of the discovery of a new chemical substance. A medal was struck in honor of the discovery of the substance of solar torches (prominences). On one side of this medal are embossed portraits of Jansen and Lockyer, and on the other - the image of the ancient Greek sun god Apollo in a chariot drawn by four horses. Under the chariot was an inscription in French: "Analysis of the solar ledges August 18, 1868"

In 1895, the London chemist Henry Myers drew the attention of William Ramsay, the famous English physicist and chemist, to the then forgotten article by the geologist Hildebrand. In this article, Hildebrand argued that some rare minerals, when heated in sulfuric acid, emit a gas that does not burn and does not support combustion. Among these rare minerals was kleveite, found in Norway by Nordenskjöld, the famous Swedish explorer of the polar regions.

Ramsay decided to investigate the nature of the gas contained in the cloveite. In all chemical stores in London, Ramsay's assistants managed to buy only ... one gram of cloveite, paying only 3.5 shillings for it. Having isolated several cubic centimeters of gas from the obtained amount of cleveite and purified it from impurities, Ramsay examined it using a spectroscope. The result was unexpected: the gas released from the cloveite turned out to be ... helium!

Not trusting his discovery, Ramsay turned to William Crookes, the largest specialist in spectral analysis in London at the time, with a request to investigate the gas released from the cloveite.

Crookes investigated the gas. The result of the study confirmed the discovery of Ramsay. So on March 23, 1895, a substance was discovered on Earth that was found on the Sun 27 years ago. On the same day, Ramsay published his discovery, sending one message to the Royal Society of London, and another to the famous French chemist, Academician Berthelot. In a letter to Berthelot, Ramsay asked to inform the scientific meeting of professors of the Paris Academy about his discovery.

15 days after Ramsay, independently of him, the Swedish chemist Langle isolated helium from cleveite and, like Ramsay, reported his discovery of helium to the chemist Berthelot.

For the third time, helium was discovered in the air, where, according to Ramsay, he had to come from rare minerals (cleveite, etc.) during destruction and chemical transformations on Earth.

Small amounts of helium were also found in the water of some mineral springs. So, for example, it was found by Ramsay in the curative spring of Cautere in the Pyrenees mountains, the English physicist John William Rayleigh found it in the waters of the sources at the famous resort of Bath, the German physicist Kaiser discovered helium in the springs gushing in the Black Forest mountains. However, helium has been found most of all in some minerals. It is found in samarskite, fergusonite, columbite, monazite, uranite. The mineral thorianite from the island of Ceylon contains a particularly high amount of helium. A kilogram of thorianite, when heated red-hot, releases 10 liters of helium.

It was soon established that helium is found only in those minerals that contain radioactive uranium and thorium. The alpha rays emitted by some radioactive elements are nothing more than the nuclei of helium atoms.

From the history...

Its unusual properties allow helium to be widely used for a variety of purposes. The first, absolutely logical, based on its ease - use in balloons and airships. Moreover, unlike hydrogen, it is not explosive. This property of helium was used by the Germans in the First World War in combat airships. The downside of using it is that an airship filled with helium will not fly as high as a hydrogen one.

To bombard large cities, mainly the capitals of England and France, the German command used airships (zeppelins) in the First World War. Hydrogen was used to fill them. Therefore, the fight against them was relatively simple: an incendiary projectile that fell into the shell of the airship set fire to hydrogen, which instantly flared up and the device burned out. Of the 123 airships built in Germany during the First World War, 40 burned down from incendiary shells. But one day the General Staff of the British Army was surprised by a message of particular importance. Direct hits of incendiary shells in the German zeppelin did not give results. The airship did not flare up, but slowly flowing out with some unknown gas, flew back.

Military experts were perplexed and, despite an urgent and detailed discussion of the issue of the non-flammability of zeppelin from incendiary shells, they could not find the necessary explanation. The riddle was solved by the English chemist Richard Threlfall. In a letter to the British Admiralty, he wrote: "... I believe that the Germans invented some way to extract helium in large quantities, and this time they filled the shell of their zeppelin not with hydrogen, as usual, but with helium ..."

The persuasiveness of Threlfall's arguments, however, was diminished by the fact that Germany had no significant sources of helium. True, helium is contained in the air, but there is little of it: one cubic meter of air contains only 5 cubic centimeters of helium. The Linde system chiller, which converts several hundred cubic meters of air into liquid in one hour, could produce no more than 3 liters of helium during this time.

3 liters of helium per hour! And to fill the zeppelin, you need 5 ÷ 6 thousand cubic meters. m. To obtain such an amount of helium, one Linde machine had to work without stopping for about two hundred years, two hundred such machines would give the required amount of helium in one year. The construction of 200 factories for converting air into liquid to obtain helium is economically very unprofitable, and practically pointless.

Where did German chemists get helium from?

This question, as it turned out later, was solved in a relatively simple way. Long before the war, German shipping companies that transported goods to India and Brazil were instructed to load returning ships not with ordinary ballast, but with monazite sand, which contains helium. Thus, a reserve of "helium raw materials" was created - about 5 thousand tons of monazite sand, from which helium for zeppelin was obtained. In addition, helium was extracted from the water of the Nauheim mineral spring, which produced up to 70 cubic meters. m of helium daily.

The case with the fireproof zeppelin was the impetus for a new search for helium. Chemists, physicists and geologists began to look for helium. It has suddenly acquired tremendous value. In 1916, 1 cubic meter of helium cost 200,000 rubles in gold, that is, 200 rubles per liter. Considering that a liter of helium weighs 0.18 g, then 1 g cost over 1,000 rubles.

Helium became an object of hunting for merchants, speculators, stock dealers. Helium was found in significant quantities in natural gases coming out of the bowels of the earth in America, in the state of Kansas, where, after America entered the war, a helium plant was built near Fort Worth. But the war ended, the reserves of helium remained unused, the cost of helium fell sharply and at the end of 1918 was about four rubles per cubic meter.

Helium extracted with such difficulty was used by the Americans only in 1923 to fill the now peaceful Shenandoah airship. It was the world's first and only air cargo-passenger ship filled with helium. However, his "life" was short-lived. Two years after its birth, "Shenandoah" was destroyed by a storm. 55 thousand cubic meters m, almost the entire world stock of helium, collected over six years, disappeared without a trace in the atmosphere during a storm that lasted only 30 minutes.

Helium application

Helium in nature

Mostly terrestrial helium formed during the radioactive decay of uranium-238, uranium-235, thorium and their unstable decay products. Incomparably smaller amounts of helium are produced by the slow decay of samarium-147 and bismuth. All these elements generate only a heavy isotope of helium - He 4, whose atoms can be considered as the remains of alpha particles buried in a shell of two paired electrons - in an electronic doublet. In the early geological periods, there probably existed other naturally radioactive series of elements that had already disappeared from the face of the Earth, saturating the planet with helium. One of them was the now artificially recreated neptunium row.

By the amount of helium trapped in a rock or mineral, one can judge their absolute age. These measurements are based on the laws of radioactive decay: for example, half of uranium-238 in 4.52 billion years turns into helium and lead.

Helium slowly accumulates in the earth's crust. One ton of granite, containing 2 g of uranium and 10 g of thorium, produces only 0.09 mg of helium in a million years - half a cubic centimeter. In very few minerals rich in uranium and thorium, the helium content is quite high - a few cubic centimeters of helium per gram. However, the share of these minerals in natural helium production is close to zero, as they are very rare.

There is little helium on Earth: 1 m 3 of air contains only 5.24 cm 3 of helium, and each kilogram of terrestrial material contains 0.003 mg of helium. But in terms of prevalence in the Universe, helium ranks second after hydrogen: helium accounts for about 23% of the cosmic mass. About half of all helium is concentrated in the earth's crust, mainly in its granite shell, which has accumulated the main reserves of radioactive elements. The content of helium in the earth's crust is small - 3 x 10 -7% by mass. Helium accumulates in free gas accumulations of bowels and in oils; such deposits reach industrial proportions. The maximum concentrations of helium (10-13%) were found in free gas accumulations and gases of uranium mines and (20-25%) in gases spontaneously released from groundwater. The older the age of gas-bearing sedimentary rocks and the higher the content of radioactive elements in them, the more helium is in the composition of natural gases.

Extraction of helium

Extraction of helium on an industrial scale is made from natural and petroleum gases both hydrocarbon and nitrogen composition. According to the quality of raw materials, helium deposits are subdivided into: rich (He content\u003e 0.5% by volume); privates (0.10-0.50) and the poor< 0,10). Значительные его концентрации известны в некоторых месторождениях природного газа Канады, США (шт. Канзас, Техас, Нью-Мексико, Юта).

The world reserves of helium are 45.6 billion cubic meters. Large deposits are located in the United States (45% of world resources), followed by Russia (32%), Algeria (7%), Canada (7%) and China (4%).
The USA is also in the lead in helium production (140 million cubic meters per year), followed by Algeria (16 million).

Russia ranks third in the world - 6 million cubic meters per year. The Orenburg Helium Plant is currently the only domestic source of helium production, and gas production is declining. In this regard, gas fields in Eastern Siberia and the Far East with high concentrations of helium (up to 0.6%) acquire special meaning... One of the most promising is the Kovykta ha zocondensate field located in the north of the Irkutsk region. According to experts, it contains about 25% of the world'sx helium reserves.

Indicator name	Helium (grade A) (according to TU 51-940-80)	Helium (grade B) (according to TU 51-940-80)	High purity helium, grade 5.5 (according to TU 0271-001-45905715-02)	Helium of high purity, grade 6.0 (according to TU 0271-001-45905715-02)
Helium, not less
Nitrogen, no more
Oxygen + argon
Neon, no more
Water vapor, no more
Hydrocarbons, no more
CO2 + CO, no more
Hydrogen, no more

Safety

- Helium is not toxic, not flammable, not explosive
- Helium is allowed to be used in any crowded places: at concerts, promotions, stadiums, shops.
- Gaseous helium is physiologically inert and does not pose a danger to humans.
- Helium is not dangerous for the environment, therefore, it is not required to neutralize, utilize and eliminate its residues in cylinders.
- Helium is much lighter than air and dissipates in the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere.

Helium (grades A and B according to TU 51-940-80)
Technical name	Helium gaseous
Chemical formula
OON number
Transport hazard class
Physical properties
The physical state	Under normal conditions - gas
Density, kg / m³	Under normal conditions (101.3 kPa, 20 C), 1627
Boiling point, C at 101.3 kPa
Temperature of the 3rd point and its equilibrium pressure С, (mPa)
Water solubility	insignificant
Fire and explosion hazard	fire and explosion proof
Stability and reactivity
Stability	Stable
Reactivity	Inert gas
Danger to humans
Toxic effects	Non-toxic
Environmental hazard	Harmful influence does not affect the environment
Facilities	Any means are applicable

Storage and transportation of helium

Gaseous helium can be transported by all modes of transport in accordance with the rules for the carriage of goods by a particular mode of transport. Transportation is carried out in special brown steel cylinders and containers for helium transportation. Liquid helium is transported in transport vessels of the type STG-40, STG-10 and STG-25 with a volume of 40, 10 and 25 liters.

Rules for the transportation of cylinders with technical gases

Shipping dangerous goods in Russian Federation governed by the following documents:

1. "Rules for the carriage of dangerous goods by road" (as amended by the Orders of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation of 11.06.1999 No. 37, of 14.10.1999 No. 77; registered with the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on December 18, 1995, registration No. 997).

2. "European Agreement on the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road" (ADR), to which Russia officially joined on April 28, 1994 (Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 03.02.1994 No. 76).

3. "Rules road traffic"(SDA 2006), namely Article 23.5, which states that" The carriage of ... dangerous goods ... is carried out in accordance with special rules. "

4. "Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses", article 12.21, part 2 of which provides for liability for violation of the rules for the transport of dangerous goods in the form of "an administrative fine for drivers in the amount of one to three times the minimum wage or deprivation of the right to drive vehicles for a period of one to three months; for officials responsible for transportation - from ten to twenty times the minimum wage. "

In accordance with clause 3, clause 1.2 "The Rules do not apply to ... the carriage of a limited amount of dangerous substances in one vehicle, the carriage of which can be considered as the carriage of non-dangerous goods." It also explains that "A limited amount of dangerous goods is determined in the requirements for the safe transportation of a specific type of dangerous goods. When determining it, it is possible to use the requirements of the European Agreement on the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods (ADR)." Thus, the question of the maximum amount of substances that can be transported as a non-hazardous cargo is reduced to the study of section 1.1.3 of ADR, which establishes exemptions from the European regulations for the carriage of dangerous goods associated with various circumstances.

So, for example, in accordance with paragraph 1.1.3.1 "The provisions of ADR do not apply ... to the carriage of dangerous goods by individuals when these goods are packaged for retail sale and are intended for their personal consumption, household use, leisure or sports, provided that measures are taken to prevent any leakage of the contents into normal conditions transportation ".

However, a group of exemptions formally recognized by the rules for the carriage of dangerous goods are exemptions associated with quantities transported in one transport unit (clause 1.1.3.6).

All gases are classified in the second class of substances according to the ADR classification. Non-flammable, non-toxic gases (groups A - neutral and O - oxidizing) belong to the third transport category, with a maximum amount limited to 1000 units. Flammable (group F) - to the second, with a maximum quantity limit of 333 units. By "unit" is meant here 1 liter of the capacity of the vessel containing the compressed gas, or 1 kg of liquefied or dissolved gas. Thus, the maximum amount of gases that can be transported in one transport unit as non-hazardous cargo is as follows: