Is Helium Usage a Laughing Matter?

Abstract

Most people know helium from parties, when is used in inflating balloons or used to obtain a high voice, for laughing matter. In fact, these two ways of using this rare gas are the worst example, because, once released into the atmosphere it cannot or it can be very expensive to be recovered. Despite helium is the second most abundant element observed in the Universe, where the reserves constitutes about 23% of the mass, on Earth are limited and there are no many extraction plants. In this article are presented the main properties of this gas, ways of obtaining it, applications and some ways to prevent wasting. Key words: