Why is Helium so difficult to synthesize?
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Noble gases don’t form molecules with other elements in Earth normal conditions. So you can’t gather it from breaking a molecule through a chemical reaction. You have to catch them as it is in the air.
But unlike other noble gases, helium is lighter than air so it slowly goes up and up and leaves the atmosphere.
It’s unpractical so you need to rely on sealed underground pockets of air. Which is typically how you also gather natural gas so we get helium as a byproduct for natural gas exploitation.
But helium is in a unique spot of useful, not that demanded (compared to hydrocarbures), hard to catch, hard to store (it will leak out of a sealed steel container). While the heavier hydrocarbures are expensive. So often the companies don’t even bother with helium and let it escape.
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