Which is the only element discovered first in space? « Back to Questions List

Helium is famous for the reason that it is the only element discovered in space before identifying its presence on Earth.  It was first discovered as an unknown yellow spectral line in sunlight during a solar eclipse in 1868.  Recording of the helium spectral line was first made by Jules Janssen, a French astronomer. He is credited with identifying the element along with Norman Lockyer. Lockyer was the first to suggest that yellow spectral line was due to an undiscovered element. Lockyer named the element Helium, from the Greek word helios, "the Sun".   Formal discovery of the element happened much later in 1895. It occurred when Swedish chemists, Per Teodor Cleve and Nils Abraham Langlet  found the element originating from the uranium ore cleveite. Later on in 1903, a large reserve of helium was located in in natural gas fields in parts of the US.  These fields still remain the largest supplier of helium. 

Helium is one of the lightest gaseous elements discovered. It also happens to be one of the least dense element. Due to these features, the gas is widely used for filling party balloons, balloons for advertisements and airships that float in the air.  Helium is a noble gas which is colorless, tasteless, non-toxic, odorless, inert and monatomic gas. The chemical element having atomic number 2 is represented by He.  Helium occupies second spot among elements in terms of lightness and abundance, both just after Hydrogen. The boiling point of helium is the lowest among all the elements. 

Helium has abundant presence in the sun and Jupiter. It shall also be noted that the light and heat in the sun are produced when conversion of hydrogen into helium happens through nuclear fusion process. Most observed form of helium in nature is helium-4. It has a very high nuclear binding energy. Major portion of helium-4 was formed during the Big Bang. New helium is being formed from the nuclear fusion taking place in stars. 

Helium finds application in deep sea diving. It is used as specialized breathing mixtures during deep sea exploration, deep sea diving and advanced recreational driving.   A combination of oxygen, helium and nitrogen is used in this process. This mix is known as Trimix.  With a proper mix of these three gases,  combination of mix suitable for the depth of dive can be prepared. Helium is used in place of some nitrogen to reduce toxity as the element is non-toxic and can be easily compressed.  Helois is a mixture of helium and oxygen with a 0% nitrogen content. This is used for breathing in deep sea commercial diving operations. 

Liquid helium finds application in cryogenics, cooling of superconducting magnets and in MRI scanners. It is also widely used as a pressurizing and purging gas in arc welding. It also aids researches in  quantum mechanics, superfluidity and superconductivity.  
 

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