Helium is odorless, colorless and non-toxic. It is part of the noble gas group of elements. A noble gas is a naturally occurring gas with very low chemical reactivity. This is due to Helium's complete outer layer of electrons, meaning it does not have any spaces or electrons looking to bond with other elements. Helium was first seen as a new yellow line in the solar spectrum, during a full solar eclipse. This was first observed in 1868 by a French observer Pierre Jannsen and understood to exist in the sun but was not discovered on earth until 1895. It was discovered by Sir william Ramsay during an experiment exposing clevite, a mineral containing uranium, to mineral acid. Helium was discovered among the gases released by the experiment.
Next to Hydrogen, Helium is the second most abundant element in our universe. It is also the second lightest. Helium is found in natural gas. Most of the world's helium is found in the central United States underneath, Texas, Oklahom and Kansas. It is found regularly in the hottest stars. It has the lowest melting point of any element and, for this reason, is often used in cryogenic research.
Helium combined with oxygen is used in scuba diving tanks to create a nitrogen free environment. This keeps the scuba diver safe from nitrogen narcosis, also known as rapture of the deep. Helium is used to inflate balloons and blimps. It is also used to pressurize tanks of liquid such as rocket fuel. When hydrogen is fused into helium, it produces the energy for the hydrogen bomb.
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