Why is Helium so difficult to synthesize?

Question

Why is Helium so difficult to synthesize?

In: 74

Answer 1

So when you let go of a helium balloon what happens? It flies into the sky.

That’s what happens to any helium on the Earth’s surface. It rises all the way to space and gets blown away.

You cannot “synthesize” helium other than with radioactive decay. It doesn’t really react with anything on the Earth’s surface.

So the problem with helium is it’s either trapped underground (generally mixed with natural gas) or it’s gone.

Fun fact though. There’s plenty of helium on the surface of the moon. Because there’s no atmosphere on the moon. Helium doesnt float away. It drops like a brick.