Helium has some interesting and unusual physical properties. For example, at very low temperatures it can become superfluid. A superfluid material behaves very strangely. It can flow upwards out of a container, against the force of gravity. It can also squeeze through very small holes that should be able to keep it out. The Nobel Prize in physics for 1996 was awarded to three Americans who discovered superfluidity. They were David M. Lee (1931- ), Douglas D. Osheroff (1945- ), and Robert C. Richardson (1937-).
For an inactive gas, helium has a surprising number of applications. It is used in low-temperature research, for filling balloons and dirigibles (blimps), to pressurize rocket fuels, in welding operations, in lead detection systems, in neon signs, and to protect objects from reacting with oxygen.
One of the most powerful instruments for studying chemical elements is the spectroscope. The spectroscope is a device for studying the light produced by a heated object. For example, a lump of sodium metal will burn with a yellow flame. The flame looks quite different, however, when viewed through a spectroscope.
A spectroscope contains a triangular piece of glass (called a prism) that breaks light into its basic parts.
This page contains 197 words.
Helium article
Read the rest of this article.
This article contains 2,311 words
(approx. 8 pages at 300 words per page).
Order our Helium Article
