Nice world economy you’ve got there. Would be a shame if someone fucked it up for no reason whatsoever.
@Nickiquote Strait of Hormuz
20% of oil
20% of gas
33% of synthetic fertilizer
25%-36% of helium
@drgroftehauge You never knew that you needed helium for stuff until you don’t have it.
@Nickiquote I didn't know you needed it for making chips but I did know you need it for making things really cold (superconductance, most quantum stuff). There was a whole thing about how the very modern MRIs use much less helium.
@Nickiquote We had some mirrors for x-rays that were cooled using helium.
The Iran war disrupts global helium supply and artificial intelligence chipmakers

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has trapped a third of the world’s commercial helium, threatening the irreplaceable coolant that makes MRI scanners and advanced microchips possible

Scientific American