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Posted on 05/22/2012 7:45:26 PM PDT by MamaDearest
Snip: The United States is running out of helium.
Yes, helium. Thanks to a 1996 law that has forced the government to sell off its helium reserves at bargain-bin prices, the country’s stockpile of the relatively rare and nonrenewable gas could soon vanish.
Party supply stores are already feeling the pinch, as helium shortfalls are driving up the price of balloons........ A severe helium shortage, experts say, would cause problems for large swaths of the economy, from medical scanners to welding to the manufacturing of optical fibers and LCD screens.
(Excerpt) Read more at bendbulletin.com ...
“We’re doomed!” [/high-pitched voice]
Giggling - thinking of Obama speeches in helium mode.
We got the recipe in culinary school, but never got a demonstration or practical exam on that technique. ;)
/johnny
it’s no joke,this is serious and I’m pissed; I might not be able to take my daughter to this:
“Helium is easy. All you have to do is jam two hydrogen atoms together really hard.”
A dozen or so H-bombs ought to do the trick, plus we could get rid of all that garbage floating around in the Pacific;)
Another government caused failure under Obama’s watch.
Helium happens to be a very important gas. I worked at the Michoud Assembly Facility where the Space Shuttle External Tank was manufactured for a number of years. Helium and Argon were two of the most used shield gases for welding exotic aluminum alloys. I feel sure that other manufacturing operations require these gases as well. Depletion of the Helium supply is a serious matter.
“I feel sure that other manufacturing operations require these gases as well.”
No Helium, no these: http://www.armybase.us/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Persistent-Threat-Detection-Systems.JPG shown in the squatted position.
These are used for force protection in Afghanistan.
Very capable asset.....let’s keep the Helium coming.
Another great idea from Big Guv.
It is also a very sexist gas. We must search for shelium as a counter-measure and to bring gender balance to the gas equasion.
Replacing the nitrogen in "regular" air with helium creates heliox -- a gas used in respiratory therapy, and diving. Saturation & technical divers use it to delay the onset of nitrogen narcosis and "the Bends".
“I feel sure that other manufacturing operations require these gases as well.”
No Helium, no these: http://www.armybase.us/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Persistent-Threat-Detection-Systems.JPG shown in the squatted position.
These are used for force protection in Afghanistan.
Very capable asset.....let’s keep the Helium coming.
Idiots. The Hindenberg used hydrogen because the US wouldn't export helium at the time.
FWIW, helium, at least on Earth, is a bi-product of radioactive decay, and is trapped along with natural gas.
It's extracted from NG wells.
I say we blame Obama.
Helium is usually found with natural gas that has been exposed to granitic rocks, the world’s largest remaining reserves of this kind of natural gas is in Qatar i’m sure dear leader can go over and bow to the king and get us some more... We used to have a large supply from gas fields in Texas but they were depleted, on a positive note if we build large scale LNG export plants Helium is a by product gas from them. Currently it is only economical to go after high grade helium natural gas ~4% or so by volume such as Qatars but with massive LNG use even .5% becomes economical since you have to remove it anyways to send the gas as a liquid.
I know it’s no joke. I recently had emergency surgery that depended upon medical tests that required helium. This is going to increase the prices of medical tests requiring an MRI and other tests.
I always thought that squandering helium in toy balloons was a terrible waste.
There were quite a few snickering comments about the value of the strategic helium reserve we had, comparing it to the mohair subsidy - a government project from a past time that hd long outlived its usefulness.
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