The Anti-Targ Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/helium-supply-world-shortage-run-out-recycle-mri-scanners-deep-sea-diving-balloons-a8741081.html Quote World’s helium supply ‘could run out within a decade’, chemistry professor warns The world's helium supply is on course to run out within a decade unless we recycle more of the inert gas, an expert has warned. David Cole-Hamilton, emeritus professor of chemistry at the University of St Andrews, urged people not to have helium balloons at parties as the gas is needed for MRI scanners and deep sea diving. There is no chemical way of manufacturing helium with the supplies on Earth coming from the slow radioactive alpha decay that occurs in rocks. When helium is released into the atmosphere it is so light that it leaves the earth altogether. So it's the only element that doesn't stick around once we've used and discarded it. Theoretically every other element is recoverable from the waste we produce by applying the right chemical and refining processes. So the economics of going out and mining asteroids / other planets for minerals we have on earth and that can be retrieved from waste is up for debate. But helium just disappears into space. So at some point, if there are still essential uses for helium we're going to have to go out into space to look for it. The alternative is nuclear fusion of course. If we can figure out how to do mini-suns for energy, then helium will be the by-product and we should be set for helium supplies for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Bass Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 I doubt it. The costs of extracting and returning helium to Earth from off-world sources would be enormous - it's probably cheaper to try and figure out ways to conserve supplies of it instead, and use alternative materials when necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rippounet Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 We should see nuclear fusion being exploited in our lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ran Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Just now, Rippounet said: We should see nuclear fusion being exploited in our lifetime. -- Popular Science, Dec. 1952 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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