Definitions for helium
ˈhi li əmhe·li·um

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. helium, He, atomic number 2noun

   a very light colorless element that is one of the six inert gasses; the most difficult gas to liquefy; occurs in economically extractable amounts in certain natural gases (as those found in Texas and Kansas)

GCIDE(3.20 / 5 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Heliumnoun

   An inert, monoatomic, gaseous element occurring in the atmosphere of the sun and stars, and in small quantities in the earth's atmosphere, in several minerals and in certain mineral waters. It is obtained from natural gas in industrial quantities. Symbol, He; atomic number 2; at. wt., 4.0026 (C=12.011). Helium was first detected spectroscopically in the sun by Lockyer in 1868; it was first prepared by Ramsay in 1895. Helium has a density of 1.98 compared with hydrogen, and is more difficult to liquefy than the latter. Chemically, it is an inert noble gas, belonging to the argon group, and cannot be made to form compounds. The helium nucleus is the charged particle which constitutes alpha rays, and helium is therefore formed as a decomposition product of certain radioactive substances such as radium. The normal helium nucleus has two protons and two neutrons, but an isotope with only one neutron is also observed in atmospheric helium at an abundance of 0.013 %. Liquid helium has a boiling point of -268.9

Wiktionary(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. heliumnoun

   A colorless and inert gas, and the second lightest chemical element (symbol He) with an atomic number of 2 and atomic weight of 4.002602.

2. heliumnoun

   A form or sample of the element.

3. Etymology: From helium, from ἥλιος (because its presence was first theorised in the sun's atmosphere).

Wikipedia(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Helium

   Helium (from Greek: ἥλιος, romanized: helios, lit. 'sun') is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. Its boiling and melting point are the lowest among all the elements. It is the second lightest and second most abundant element in the observable universe, after hydrogen. It is present at about 24% of the total elemental mass, which is more than 12 times the mass of all the heavier elements combined. Its abundance is similar to this in both the Sun and in Jupiter, due to the very high nuclear binding energy (per nucleon) of helium-4, with respect to the next three elements after helium. This helium-4 binding energy also accounts for why it is a product of both nuclear fusion and radioactive decay. The most common isotope of helium in the universe is helium-4, the vast majority of which was formed during the Big Bang. Large amounts of new helium are created by nuclear fusion of hydrogen in stars. Helium was first detected as an unknown, yellow spectral line signature in sunlight during a solar eclipse in 1868 by Georges Rayet, Captain C. T. Haig, Norman R. Pogson, and Lieutenant John Herschel, and was subsequently confirmed by French astronomer Jules Janssen. Janssen is often jointly credited with detecting the element, along with Norman Lockyer. Janssen recorded the helium spectral line during the solar eclipse of 1868, while Lockyer observed it from Britain. Lockyer was the first to propose that the line was due to a new element, which he named. The formal discovery of the element was made in 1895 by chemists Sir William Ramsay, Per Teodor Cleve, and Nils Abraham Langlet, who found helium emanating from the uranium ore, cleveite, which is now not regarded as a separate mineral species, but as a variety of uraninite. In 1903, large reserves of helium were found in natural gas fields in parts of the United States, by far the largest supplier of the gas today. Liquid helium is used in cryogenics (its largest single use, absorbing about a quarter of production), and in the cooling of superconducting magnets, with its main commercial application in MRI scanners. Helium's other industrial uses—as a pressurizing and purge gas, as a protective atmosphere for arc welding, and in processes such as growing crystals to make silicon wafers—account for half of the gas produced. A well-known but minor use is as a lifting gas in balloons and airships. As with any gas whose density differs from that of air, inhaling a small volume of helium temporarily changes the timbre and quality of the human voice. In scientific research, the behavior of the two fluid phases of helium-4 (helium I and helium II) is important to researchers studying quantum mechanics (in particular the property of superfluidity) and to those looking at the phenomena, such as superconductivity, produced in matter near absolute zero. On Earth, it is relatively rare—5.2 ppm by volume in the atmosphere. Most terrestrial helium present today is created by the natural radioactive decay of heavy radioactive elements (thorium and uranium, although there are other examples), as the alpha particles emitted by such decays consist of helium-4 nuclei. This radiogenic helium is trapped with natural gas in concentrations as great as 7% by volume, from which it is extracted commercially by a low-temperature separation process called fractional distillation. Terrestrial helium is a non-renewable resource because once released into the atmosphere, it promptly escapes into space. Its supply is thought to be rapidly diminishing. However, some studies suggest that helium produced deep in the earth by radioactive decay can collect in natural gas reserves in larger than expected quantities, in some cases, having been released by volcanic activity.

Webster Dictionary(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Heliumnoun

   a gaseous element found in the atmospheres of the sun and earth and in some rare minerals

2. Etymology: [NL., fr. Gr. "h`lios the sun.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Helium

   Helium was an American alternative rock band formed during the summer of 1992. Under the original moniker of "Chupa," the band's founding members were Mary Lou Lord; Jason Hatfield, Juliana Hatfield's brother; Shawn King Devlin; and Brian Dunton. Devlin and Dunton were both also in the band Dumptruck before founding Helium.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Helium

   hē′li-um, n. a substance discovered by Lockyer in the sun's atmosphere, found by Ramsay in the rare Norwegian mineral cleveite.

U.S. National Library of Medicine(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Helium

   Helium. A noble gas with the atomic symbol He, atomic number 2, and atomic weight 4.003. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is not combustible and does not support combustion. It was first detected in the sun and is now obtained from natural gas. Medically it is used as a diluent for other gases, being especially useful with oxygen in the treatment of certain cases of respiratory obstruction, and as a vehicle for general anesthetics. (Dorland, 27th ed)

CrunchBase(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Helium

   Helium is simultaneously an online community for writers and a directory for user-generated articles. Writers can submit articles to 24 different channels (business, entertainment, travel, etc.), write for the side of a heated debate, try to capture publisher writing assignments bounties or win user-voted Helium writing contests. Users get to rate submitted articles so the best writing rises to the top. Community writers can also get paid for their work. Helium shares ad revenues with popular writers and the site has an extensive network of publishers that pay for specific articles that meet their criteria. Payments per article range from $20 to over $100, with 20% transaction fee going to Helium. Helium also has a partner program where partners can create their own branded Helium page with topics and debates that they choose. Partners are given co-branded advertisements to include on their sites and receive small donations for every visitor they send to the Helium site.

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. helium

   Song lyrics by helium -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by helium on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Element
   • Noble Gas

Anagrams for helium »

1. humlie

How to pronounce helium?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say helium in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of helium in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of helium in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of helium in a Sentence

1. Mario Damasso:

   Not habitable at all, I would say, since we predict with back of the envelope calculation its temperature to be around 40 Kelvin, we have no clue on the actual planet structure and composition, although we can likely imagine that it has an extended atmosphere made mostly of [hydrogen]and [helium].

2. Brice Loose:

   When we first started seeing high concentrations of helium-3, we thought we had a cluster of bad or suspicious data.

3. Amanda Gintoft:

   Our helium supply is a strategic priority.

4. Brice Loose:

   We were n’t looking for volcanism, we were using these gases to trace other actions, when we first started seeing high concentrations of helium-3, we thought we had a cluster of bad or suspicious data.

5. Air Products:

   We realize that the BLM system is in decline and eventually will be depleted, at the same time, the world's demand for helium is likely to continue to grow and will require additional new sources.

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