Helium (He) is a colourless, odourless, non-toxic, non-corrosive and non-combustible gas. It is mainly sourced from natural gas wells. This valuable gas is in short supply the world over, which is why many applications incorporate recovery and recycling systems.
Helium is used as a super coolant for cryogenic applications, lift gas for balloons, meteorological balloons, airships and blimps. Helium is applied as a shielding gas in arc welding and plasma arc welding. Helium is used in pressure purging operations, leak detection, as carrier gas and purging gas for gas chromatography and in semiconductors manufacturing.
Helium is used as a coolant during fibre optic cable manufacturing, as the heat transfer medium in the new generation nuclear reactors, as deep-sea diving gas, as a working gas in lasers and lighting. Helium is used in some hard drives. Helium is also applied in solar telescopes and thermoacoustic heat pumps.