Helium was discovered from the spectroscopic examination of a gas which was occluded in certain minerals including cleveite (i.e. a variety of pitchblende), by Hildebrand in 1882AD. The line spectrum of this gas was identical to that from a line in the spectrum of the sun, which was observed by P J C Janssen in 1868AD. E Frankland and J N Lockyer has suggested that this line may be caused by an unknown element which they named Helium (from the Greek, Helios, Sun). Some time later, the presence of traces of Helium in the atmosphere was established.
Traces of Helium occur in the atmosphere.
Helium is present in the gaseous emissions from natural springs in the USA and it is also present (at 1% level) in natural gas in the USA.
Helium is obtained from the liquefaction of natural gas.
Helium is also obtained from monazite sands by heating to 1000 degC.
Helium is a colourless, tasteless odourless inert gas.
Helium can only be liquefied with extreme difficulty, as it does not undergo adiabatic cooling on expansion until very low temperatures are reached.
Helium is very inert chemically due to its electronic configuration.
Chemically, helium is totally inert.