Mastodawn

SellaTheChemist

I’ll be talking about the very serious helium shortage that is looming (actually, it’s already upon us) and risks crippling semiconductor chip production and diagnostic instruments like MRI scanners, not to mention low temperature science.. It’s maddening because we’ve known that helium is very limited but it’s cheap so no one recovers it. It’ll be on BBC World Service Newshour around 13:45 BST.
#elements #chemistry #economics #profligacy

F4GRX SÃ©bastien 16h ago

@sellathechemist the CEA was recovering spent helium in their plants at Grenoble in the Alps, in 2004. Why was this not done more globally?

SellaTheChemist 7h ago

@f4grx it’s done but patchily. I suspect the price “doesn’t justify it”.

Colin the Mathmo 15h ago

@sellathechemist I may have missed it ... doing other things, recording the last 10 minutes, but I may have missed it.

I'm aware of the problem and it quietly makes me very angry every time I think of it.

Nothing I can do ... I try not to let it upset me.

Colin the Mathmo 11h ago

@sellathechemist Yeah ... reviewed the recording and I missed it.

8-(

Oh well ...

Martin Whitworth 11h ago

@ColinTheMathmo @sellathechemist It’s on BBC Sounds. I just listened. I know how important helium is, but didn’t know about this crisis. Thank you Andrea for enlightening me.

@Martin_Whitworth Thanks for this, I'm listening now - abou t38 minutes in to https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w172zssn5g0b00f

Newshour - Talks under way in Pakistan to end Middle East war - BBC Sounds

Efforts continue to establish diplomatic channels to end the war in the Middle East

BBC

John Faithfull 🌍🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🧡✊🏻✊🏿15h ago

@sellathechemist ... Indeed! The US particularly has a recent history of stupid decisions about helium - eg Helium Privatization Act of 1996, and most of their actions since... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Helium_Reserve

National Helium Reserve - Wikipedia

SellaTheChemist 15h ago

@FaithfullJohn Yup. I mentioned that too. There are parallels with Margaret Thatcher doing away with Harold Wilson’s BNOC a fire sale that funded her battles with the unions. Meanwhile Norway has a gigantic sovereign wealth fund and the UK has…..

@sellathechemist

In 2023 a large source of helium was found in Babbitt Minnesota. I’m not sure how the extraction process is going but it should help.

SellaTheChemist 14h ago

@HopelessDemigod There have also been big funds in Tanzania. But these things take time and money. The US had a strategic reserve and 90% of the world’s supply. But they decided to privatise it -someone made a quick buck and now we have no buffer when a mad orange king overturns things.

@sellathechemist

Why am I not surprised. Sigh

The Turtle 13h ago

@sellathechemist all most people will hear is that the mylar balloons for their fucking brat's birthday party will cost a lot more. Fuck mylar balloons.

Pozorvlak 10h ago

@the_turtle @sellathechemist I once found one on a glacier in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan, at the foot of a mountain I'm pretty sure nobody had climbed before me. As you say, fuck mylar balloons.

@sellathechemist I wonder how much Helium is wasted because people want to talk funny.

@Ichinin 🏆 best shitpost of the day award for you 🤣

SellaTheChemist 8h ago

@Ichinin Less than one might think. A lot of liquid helium trundles around on motorways between hospitals and factories. Seriously big volumes are used for cryogenics, inert gas, leak detection and even some welding….

Michelle Hughes 3h ago

@sellathechemist @Ichinin

Could welding be switched over to neon or argon? My understanding was it didn't need to be cold, just inert.

Albert Cardona 12h ago

@sellathechemist

“Limited but cheap”, one wonders how we got here.

jeremiah 12h ago

@sellathechemist Outside of the UK, do you know if there will be a link?

John Griffith 11h ago

@sellathechemist

This is a link to a different discussion on the same topic

https://pca.st/episode/558d7abf-c938-45f7-b14a-a5245bb64da4

Now There's a Helium Shortage and It Affects More Than Balloons

Ripple effects from the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz continue to widen. There's yet another brewing shortage, this time in helium. While most people associate helium with…

@sellathechemist low Helium consumption instruments exist:
https://www.iceoxford.com/

ICEoxford - Innovative Cryogenic Engineering

High Performance Cryogenic Systems:Tailored to meet your exact requirements. ICEoxford offers wet and dry cryogenic systems for a wide range of scientific applications from Quantum Computing to Neutron Scattering. At the heart of our success is a commitment to find solutions for the cryogenic community. Delivering high quality products, outstanding customer support with excellent levels of personal service from our expert technical staff.

SellaTheChemist 7h ago

@hicksy2 Yes. But MRI is diffferent and existing kit needs helium top ups

SellaTheChemist 7h ago

@hicksy2 Displex (Gifford-McMahom) chillers are sealed but still need some.