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Helium gas is the second chemical element in the periodic table, commonly used to fill balloons or to be ingested (in very small quantities) and to make people with a very funny duck voice. However, planet Earth risks missing this element within the next 30 years.

The great importance of this noble gas is intrinsically related to scientific research and medical applications (such as resonance scanners). According to The Guardian, Oleg Kiricheck, head of a department at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the United Kingdom, had to cancel an important experiment aimed at working with the structures of the story. The reason? The lab ran out of Helium gas supplies.

The scientist raged against people who widely use this noble gas to fill party balloons and see them get lost in the atmosphere. “Not to mention who uses it to make his voice shrill ... it's very, very stupid and makes me angry!” Says Kirichek. Helium gas is an inert gas that does not react with other chemicals and is therefore safe for common handling. Another property of gas is to slow the flow of motion of atoms for study purposes, which greatly facilitates research.

Enlarge (Image source: Reproduction / TheGuardian)

The world only has a limited supply of gas, which is released through chemical processes carried out in industries. Oil extraction, for example, can accidentally hit underground pockets of the element, which cannot be artificially produced. “We are wasting one of the most precious resources on earth, ” concludes Kirichek.

So from now on, no squeaky voices and balloons floating in the air with respect to the entire planet.

Source: The Guardian