Science Behind Why Helium Beer Isn’t Possible – Let’s start with the science. In an August 2015 article, CraftBeer.com’s Andy Sparhawk outlines three important points from Stone’s Rick Blankemeier:
Helium is not soluble in water, therefore it’s not soluble in beer. You can’t carbonate beer with helium like you can with carbon dioxide or nitrogen. Adding liquid helium would be impossible as it turns from liquid to gas at -220°F. You’d end up freezing your beer. Even if you could somehow add helium to beer, it would cause gushing because (again) helium is not soluble in beer.
Bottom Line: Helium beer won’t ever exist under the laws of science — so why do we keep getting so many emails from beer lovers looking for it? ( MORE: Are Long Beer Lines Worth the Wait? )
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Can you infuse liquid with helium?
In water, helium is not soluble. It’s not possible to carbonate beer or wine with helium like it can be done with nitrogen or carbon dioxide. It would be impossible to add liquid helium because at 220°F it turns to gas from liquid.
Can helium be mixed with anything?
Helium is the 2 nd element on the periodic table, and it is the 2 nd most abundant element in the universe; making up 23% of the total mass of all elements (some sources go as high as 25%). Helium was discovered in the Sun before it was found on Earth, when astronomers were analyzing a solar eclipse in 1868.
Because of this, it was suitably named helium after the Greek god of the Sun, Helios. Some properties of helium include: Helium is found naturally on Earth due to the radioactive decay of elements trapped underground (often in natural gas mines in the United States). Some elements go through alpha decay in which they emit an alpha particle, which is merely a helium nucleus,
When this nucleus captures two electrons, it becomes elemental helium. Elemental helium does not chemically bond with other elements because it is inert, meaning its valence shell is completely full. Therefore there are no known compounds of helium; even in the laboratory people have never been able to get helium chemically react with anything.
Is it OK to inhale helium once?
Inhaling helium displaces oxygen, putting you at risk of side effects such as dizziness, loss of consciousness, and even death. You inhale helium from a balloon, and almost as if by magic, you sound like a cartoon chipmunk. Harmless as it may seem, though, inhaling helium can be dangerous — deadly, in fact.
There are numerous case reports of serious injury and even death caused by helium inhalation. From 2000 to 2019, an estimated 2,186 injuries related to helium inhalation were reported in United States hospital emergency departments. Most of the patients were male children between the ages of 6 and 12.
When you inhale helium, it displaces oxygen. This means that as you inhale, your body is only getting helium. Oxygen plays a role in every function of your body. Anytime you don’t get enough of it, you’re putting yourself at risk. Many of the risks are the same as with other inhalants.
nausea lightheadedness passing out
Inhaling helium from a balloon isn’t likely to cause major health issues or kill you, but it’s not impossible. There have been news reports of some folks, particularly young children, dying from asphyxiation after inhaling helium from a balloon. The majority of serious health issues and deaths related to helium inhalation involve inhaling helium from a pressurized tank.
These are the same tanks used to fill helium balloons at events or party supply stores. Tanks not only hold a lot more helium than your everyday party balloon, but they also release the helium with much more force. The more pure helium you inhale, the longer your body is without crucial oxygen. Breathing in pure helium can cause death by asphyxiation in just minutes.
Inhaling helium from a pressurized tank can also cause a gas or air embolism, which is a bubble that becomes trapped in a blood vessel, blocking it. The blood vessels can rupture and hemorrhage. Finally, the helium can also enter your lungs with enough force to cause your lungs to rupture.
Some people may inhale helium to get high, and it can be addictive. The vapor is quickly absorbed by the lungs and, much like the effects of alcohol, may cause feelings of excitement or happiness. But because these feelings usually don’t last for more than a few minutes, people may continue inhaling helium to sustain the sensation.
This increases the risk of injury or even death. If you’ve inhaled a bit of helium from a balloon and are just feeling a little dizzy or have a mild headache, you’re probably fine. Have a seat, breathe normally, and wait it out. If your symptoms are more severe, or if you’ve lost consciousness, have someone take you to the nearest emergency room — better safe than sorry.
low blood pressure trouble breathing irregular heart rate blurred vision chest pain weakness or paralysis in one or more limbs bluish lips or skin ( cyanosis ) coughing up blood seizures loss of consciousness
Not necessarily, but it’s important to remember that doing so isn’t without risk. That said, you should definitely avoid giant balloons and pressurized tanks. You should also steer clear of all helium if you have a lung or heart condition. Stick with small party balloons if you must and follow these tips:
Do it sitting down in case you get lightheaded or pass out.Make sure someone else is with you who can help if symptoms do occur.Don’t let children inhale from balloons. Not only are they more likely to have a bad reaction, but they’re also more prone to inhaling parts of the balloon or choking.
A one-off breath of helium from a small balloon for a laugh is unlikely to be catastrophic, but it can cause dizziness and make you pass out. Have a seat so that you don’t have far to fall and avoid inhaling from a helium tank or giant balloon. Even a few seconds without oxygen can have serious effects.
What reacts badly with helium?
Introduction – Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe, next to hydrogen. Helium is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. It has a very low boiling point, and is monatomic. Helium is small and extremely light, and is the least reactive of all elements; it does not react with any other elements or ions, so there are no helium-bearing minerals in nature.
| Physical Properties | |
|---|---|
| Color | Colorless |
| Phase at Room Temperature | Gas |
| Density | 0.0002 g/cm 3 |
| Boiling Point | 4.2 K |
| Heat of Vaporization | 0.1 kJ/mol |
| Thermal Conductivity | 0.15 J/m sec K |
| Source | Natural gas |
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Is it OK to inhale some helium?
Inhaling Helium is Dangerous – Asphyxiation – Inhaling helium is dangerous. The helium gas danger is not that it is poisonous, as helium is an inert gas. The helium gas danger is as an asphyxiant, when inhaled instead of normal air. Inhaling helium is dangerous because it can cause your body’s oxygen level to drop to dangerous low levels, initiating Hypoxia.
How do you turn helium into liquid?
How is helium turned into a liquid and a superfluid? Asked by: Toby Carter, by email At -269°C, helium gas condenses to become a liquid. Cool it even further and it becomes a state of matter called a superfluid. In this state it has no measurable viscosity and so does some odd things, such as climbing up the walls of a dish, leaking through apparently solid materials and staying motionless while its container is spun.
To create the liquid and superfluid states, you cool down helium gas to a few degrees above absolute zero. This is achieved by compressing the gas, and then expelling it through a small nozzle. As the gas expands, it rapidly cools (you’ll have noticed this effect if you’ve ever used an aerosol deodorant).
The process is repeated until the gas that rushes out of the nozzle is cold enough to condense to a liquid, then if you repeat the cycle a few more times the helium will become cold enough to turn to a superfluid. Subscribe to for fascinating new Q&As every month and follow on Twitter for your daily dose of fun science facts.
Can you boil liquid helium?
Common Cryogenic Liquids: Nitrogen and Helium – All gases, when cooled, condense. Two gases often used in their liquid forms are nitrogen and helium. Nitrogen gas, when cooled, condenses at -195.8 Celsius (77.36 Kelvin) and freezes at -209.86 Celsius (63.17 Kelvin.) Or, to reverse the order, solid nitrogen melts to form liquid nitrogen at 63.17 Kelvin, which boils at 77.36 Kelvin.
Liquid nitrogen is used in many cryogenic cooling systems. See the temperature scales page for a review of Celsius, Kelvin, and other scales, along with formulas to convert from one to the other. Liquid helium boils at -268.93 Centigrade (4.2 Kelvin). Helium does not freeze at atmospheric pressure. Only at pressures above 20 times atmospheric will solid helium form.
Liquid helium, because of its low boiling point, is used in many cryogenic systems when temperatures below the boiling point of nitrogen are needed. A convenient way to cool many kinds of apparatus is to submerge them in liquid helium or liquid nitrogen.
Does inhaling helium change your voice?
Asked by: Richard Cosgrove, Hove Although it’s often said that sound travels faster through denser materials, this is not true. The speed of sound increases with the stiffness of a medium and decreases with its density (it’s actually the square root of the stiffness divided by the density).
- The reason sound travels faster through water than through air is because water is so much less compressible (stiffer) than air that it more than compensates for the increase in density.
- Helium and air are both gases with very similar compressibility so the much lower density of helium causes sound waves to propagate about 2.7 times faster.
Your voice doesn’t actually change pitch with a lungful of helium: your vocal chords still vibrate at the same frequency. Rather, what changes is the natural frequency of your throat, so it resonates more strongly with the higher harmonics than the lower ones.
Can helium become explosive?
Is helium flammable? – The answer is simply, no. Helium is an inert gas. Inert quite literally means non-combustible. In fact, helium (in its liquid state) is actually used as a coolant for things like rocket ships, MRI machines, and particle accelerators.
Can inhaling helium make you sick?
When you inhale helium from a balloon, besides the change in voice, you may also experience slight dizziness. (Source: Getty/Thinkstock) You must have seen people inhale gas from a helium balloon, only to sound like a jocular character straight out of a cartoon.
- Some of you may have tried it out, too.
- It is an incredibly funny activity that has taken over party scenes around the world.
- And while helium certainly has voice-altering qualities, inhaling too much of it can be dangerous — deadly even. Read on.
- ALSO READ | Eating red, processed meat linked with higher heart disease, death risk: Study Helium vs oxygen Science says that when you inhale helium, it displaces the oxygen already present in your body.
That means that when you do inhale it, you are only inhaling helium; there is no oxygen. While a little bit is harmless, when you take in a lot of it, it can be dangerous. We all know that oxygen is important for all bodily functions; every single organ needs it.
With helium, you may be temporarily blocking the oxygen inside the body. Typically, when you inhale helium from a balloon, besides the change in voice, you may also experience slight dizziness. Then, there are other potential side effects also, like nausea and fainting spell. But, a helium balloon is unlikely to cause major health issues.
It is still advisable to exercise precaution, especially when you are letting a child partake in such games. 
If you are to inhale helium from other sources, say directly from the pressurized tank, you risk putting your health in danger. (Source: Getty/Thinkstock) Significant damages Now, if you are to inhale helium from other sources, say directly from the pressurized tank, you risk putting your health in danger.
It is believed that serious health issues and even death can be caused by taking in helium from a tank. Not only does a tank hold much more helium than a balloon, it also releases it with a lot of force, causing your lungs to rupture. And the more you inhale, the more you push your body to function without essential oxygen.
Also, according to basic science, breathing in pure helium can cause death by asphyxiation within minutes. ALSO READ | Should you take a nap after lunch? Here’s what this nutritionist suggests When to see a doctor If you have inhaled helium from a balloon — and have noticed nothing alarming — except for a significant change in voice, there is nothing to worry about really.
What happens if you touch helium?
Helium and Helium Tank Safety Modified on Wed, 03 Aug 2022 at 07:17 PM The warning and safety guidelines listed here may not be exhaustive. Please follow all safety instructions provided by your helium tank supplier. Helium is non-flammable and non-toxic, however, inhaling it from a helium tank or a balloon may cause asphyxiation or loss of consciousness and stability.
- In case of inhalation– bring the person to fresh air.
- There are no likely adverse effects expected from exposure to skin or eye contact from helium itself.
- However, when released at rapid speed from a high-pressure tank injury could occur.
- Follow all safety instructions as per the helium tank supplier.
Used in a well-ventilated area. All safety precautions listed on the (MSDS) should be followed. Safety/ Warnings and Liability If used properly helium, the tanks and the equipment are safe. DO NOT INHALE HELIUM GAS. Helium is nontoxic gas, however, inhaling it can cause health issues or death.
- Gas is under pressure. Handle with care. Helium is stored compressed in a high-pressure cylinder.
- Not for use in any medical or industrial application. Helium for balloons is sold for only the purpose intended-filling foil and latex balloons.
- Never inhale or allow to be inhaled, helium contained in a balloon, a gas container, or filling equipment even for a short period. Inhalation of helium can cause death or personal injury and may also cause dizziness, an irregular heartbeat, narcosis, nausea, or asphyxiation /suffocation. Helium reduces oxygen for breathing.
- Always secure the cylinder and prevent the cylinder from falling over. Never leave the cylinder in a public place unattended where children or unauthorized persons can gain access to it. Do not allow children to touch or play with cylinders, valves, or filling equipment. Use only approved regulator valves. When transporting tanks we recommend you store the helium tank in the trunk of your car secured. If you must transport tanks in the passenger compartment make sure they are secured and have at least one window open at all times.
- Only those over 18 and who have read the following safety instructions should use the tank and equipment and fill balloons. Only those over the age of 18 should touch, move or transport the tank or operate the balloon filling equipment.
- Never use the cylinder or open cylinder without first fastening a regulator valve or filling equipment rated for cylinder pressure. DO NOT store or use the tank in a closely confined or poorly ventilated area. Leaking helium can reduce the amount of oxygen in the air and cause asphyxiation
- When transporting the tank you must make sure the balloon nozzle is removed and the tank shut off is turned off.
- Bleed all helium out of the valve (balloon nozzle) before attempting to remove the valve (balloon nozzle). If there is helium left in the valve (balloon nozzle) it may not unscrew.
- Keep away from heat (<52°C/125°F). Use only in an area with adequate ventilation. Keep cylinder valve closed when the product is not used. Gas may accumulate in confined areas. Rapidly evolving gas can cause burns similar to frostbite. Since the product is a gas, it will probably be inhaled rather than ingested. Consider first the preventive measures in case of inhalation. Valve protection caps must remain in place unless the cylinder is secured with a valve outlet or piped to the usage point. Do not drag, slide or roll cylinders. Use a suitable hand truck for cylinder movement. Use a pressure regulator when connecting the cylinder to lower pressure piping or systems. Do not heat the cylinder by any means to increase the discharge rate of product from the cylinder. Use a check valve or trap in the discharge line to prevent hazardous backflow to the cylinder. Do not tamper with (valve) safety devices.
- CLOSE VALVE AFTER EACH USE AND WHEN EMPTY.
- Balloons represent a possible choking hazard. Adult supervision is required. Keep uninflated balloons away from children. Discard broken balloons immediately.
- Do not place the nozzle in the mouth or nose for any reason. Doing so can damage lungs and other body parts, which can result in serious personal injury or death.
- Never expose helium cylinders to direct heat, fire, or mistreatment. Exposure to such conditions may result in the rupture of the cylinder, resulting in serious personal injury or death.
First Aid: In case of Inhalation, conscious persons should be assisted to an uncontaminated area to inhale fresh air. The person should be kept warm and calm. Quick removal from the contaminated area is most important. Unconscious persons should be moved to an uncontaminated area, and given assisted resuscitation and supplemental oxygen.
- For additional information read the Material Safety Data Sheet supplied to you.
- Tank Warnings:
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How long does helium last?
How Long Do Foil Helium Balloons Last? – Foil (mylar) balloons of around 18″ typically last for 3 to 5 days, while the larger ones last for longer, from 1 week up to several weeks. Foil balloons usually come from 18″ and larger, and since they last for at least 3 days, they can safely be filled the day before the event. 
How long does helium affect your voice?
Have You Ever Wondered. –
Why does helium change the sound of your voice? How is helium different from regular air? Can breathing helium be dangerous?
Today’s Wonder of the Day was inspired by Mary from AL. Mary Wonders, ” how do our vocal cords work? ” Thanks for WONDERing with us, Mary! If you’re like many children, you’ve probably seen — and heard! — someone inhale helium from a balloon and then speak in a funny voice.
Some people who do this sound like a duck, while others might sound like a squeaky mouse, What’s going on here? The sound of your normal voice is determined by a number of factors. In addition to the air you breathe, the shape of your mouth, throat, nasal passages, tongue, and lips all contribute to creating the unique sound that is your voice,
Your voice begins in your voice box, which scientists call the larynx, Your larynx contains your vocal cords. These two folded mucous membranes vibrate when air passes between them. These vibrations resonate throughout your throat, nasal passages, mouth, tongue, and lips to create the sounds you make when you speak.
- The air you breathe is made up mainly of nitrogen and oxygen.
- Helium is much less dense than regular air.
- That’s why helium is used in balloons to make them float.
- Due to its lower density, sound travels over twice as fast through helium than it does regular air.
- When you breathe in helium, your voice travels much more quickly across your vocal cords.
This results in the funny sounds you make when you talk after breathing helium. Some people think that the helium changes the pitch of your voice. In reality, however, your vocal cords vibrate at the same frequency, The helium actually affects the sound quality of your voice (its tone or timbre ) by allowing sound to travel faster and thus change the resonances of your vocal tract by making it more responsive to high- frequency sounds.
Helium is the second most abundant element in the known universe (hydrogen is the most abundant ). Inhaling a couple of breaths of helium is usually harmless, Breathing a lot of helium, however, can be dangerous. Prolonged inhalation of helium can lead to an inadequate amount of oxygen in the lungs and blood.
This, in turn, can lead to brain injury and, in rare cases, even death. A few puffs of helium from a balloon usually isn’t a big deal, though. In fact, helium can be helpful in some instances. Doctors have sometimes treated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with a mixture of helium and oxygen.
Are helium tanks pure helium?
Does My Helium Tank Contain 100 Percent Helium? Modified on Mon, 01 May 2023 at 10:30 PM A helium tank can have as much as 99% pure helium in it, but in order to be certain– it is best to ask your helium supplier what percentage of helium is in the tank.
Most likely the tank will be between 90 percent to 99% helium. Helium suppliers use other gases to fill the rest of the tank. These gases are heavier than helium and closer to the weight of air; t ypically nitrogen is used and it weighs only slightly less than air. Float times and balloon lift will not be the same if your tank has other heavier gases.
Some disposable tanks have as much as 20 percent air added to them. Bargain Balloons has tested the float times of disposable tanks and on average it is much lower. It is so much lower, that some customers even think the balloons used are dective or poor quality.
- A helium tank never contains 100 percent helium.
- Companies will often advertise helium used in the balloon industry as,
- These companies are honestly telling you the tank has a lower purity rating, but you would have to ask them what that rating is.
- BOC advertises on its website that balloon gas is 97 percent helium.
A percentage of air or nitrogen is okay. There is even a technique called, when a balloon is inflated with 60 percent helium and 40 percent air. The balloon can still float, but you need to know what you are doing to make sure it does. As helium prices rise, we as concerned helium suppliers may add more nitrogen to keep prices down. 
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Why helium is not used as coolant?
The helium coolant outlet temperature for this option is limited by the V-alloy which has a maximum temperature limit of 700°C, due to helium embrittlement. Therefore the thermal efficiency is limited to the steam Rankine cycle system which may have a gross thermal efficiency of 40% to 45%.
What happens if you put helium in water?
Helium and water: reaction mechanisms, environmental impact and health effects – Helium is the second most prevalent element in the universe, after hydrogen, However, the atmosphere contains only 5 ppm volume of helium. Helium concentrations in seawater are no higher than 4-7 ppt.
Concentrations are relatively low, because helium as a noble gas only occurs as separate atoms, and usually does not react with any other particles. In what way and in what form does helium react with water? Atomic helium does not react with water, nor with any other substance. (We can now produce some non-stable helium compounds, such as VHe 3+ and HePtHe 2+ ).
Solubility of helium and helium compounds No single gas has a lower solubility than does helium. At T = 20 o C and pressure = 1 bar, only 1.5 mg helium dissolves in water. Why is helium present in water? Uranium minerals contain small amounts of helium.
Helium may escape through splits in the earth’s crust. However, it does not end up in water. Helium is applied as a cooling agent for nuclear reactors, in scuba diving, in hot air balloons (it has the same capacity as hydrogen), and for light bow welding. It is also applied in gas lasers, and as a protective coating for various substances.
Helium is very suitable for low-temperature instruments, because it is liquid only when temperatures are below -269 o C. Helium compound E939 is applied as a food additive. Helium can end up in water directly, when it is applied as a tracer to find leaks.
After nuclear accidents or nuclear weapon testing, helium can be applied to determine radioactivity and water contamination. The 3 He isotope is a tritium splitting product that does not escape to the atmosphere, but rather accumulates in water. What are the environmental effects of helium in water? Helium does not dissolve in water, and therefore normally does not damage the environment.
As was described earlier, helium is only present in water in very small amounts. Helium is not a dietary mineral for any organism. There are two separate helium isotopes that are both non-radioactive. Today, six other unstable isotopes exist. What are the health effects of helium in water? Helium is not a dietary mineral for humans, and only an extremely small amount is present in the human body.
- Helium does not play any vital role in physical processes, but it is not toxic, either.
- Helium in drinking water is insignificant, for all the above-mentioned reasons.
- Helium gas is relatively harmless, when inhaled in small amounts.
- If one inhales larger amounts of helium gas this may force away oxygen, and therefore lead to asphyxia.
Which water purification technologies can be applied to remove helium from water? Helium is not a water contaminant. Literature and the other elements and their interaction with water
Can helium be a superfluid?
‘Liquid Helium’, at standard atmospheric pressures, refers to the physical state of helium at very low temperatures. When Helium is in this liquid state, we refer to it as ‘superfluid’. A superfluid is a state in which matter acts like a non-viscosity fluid.