# Global helium shortage **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 20, 2020, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423 "2020-10-20T18:01:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423/61 "2020-10-24T02:00:28Z")
I love that the list of things that substance reacts violently to is “test engineers”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423/62 "2020-10-24T02:04:38Z")
[Nitrogen narcosis](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470304/). I have heard it described as like being really drunk. It certainly impairs judgment and you can find examples of people dying because of it. Like pilots needing to be very serious about the job of flying hundreds of feet in the air divers need to be equally serious when hundreds of feet underwater. Both are unforgiving places to make mistakes. Impaired judgement is no bueno. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423/63 "2020-10-24T02:59:49Z")
That would largely be true of helium, too. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423/64 "2020-10-24T04:24:45Z")
@Brayne_Ded and @Deeg Both Nitrogen and Helium bags are advocated by the supporters of Euthanasia. > **[Suicide bag](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_bag)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > A suicide bag, also known as an exit bag or hood, is part of a euthanasia device consisting of a large plastic bag with a drawcord used to commit suicide through inert gas asphyxiation. It is usually used in conjunction with a flow of an inert gas that is lighter or less dense than air, like helium or nitrogen, which prevents the panic, sense of suffocation and struggling before unconsciousness, known as the hypercapnic alarm response: 45  caused ... ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423/65 "2020-10-24T04:38:08Z")
Balloons don’t really impact the shortage, accounting for about 10% of all helium use. Cite: > **[Helium shortage has ended, at least for now](https://physicstoday.scitation.org/do/10.1063/PT.6.2.20200605a/full/)** > > Scientists say they can get as much of the light element as they need, but prices continue upward. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423/66 "2020-10-24T04:49:52Z")
A while back I wondered why we don’t use nitrogen for capital punishment. It sounds like a painless way to go. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423/67 "2020-10-24T14:18:17Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > That would largely be true of helium, too. Actually, several things are suitable for “insert gas asphyxiation”. In this context , “inert” means inert with respect to your respiratory processes, not actually chemically inert. > **[Inert gas asphyxiation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inert_gas_asphyxiation)** > > Inert gas asphyxiation is a form of asphyxiation which results from breathing a physiologically inert gas in the absence of oxygen, or a low amount of oxygen, rather than atmospheric air (which is composed largely of nitrogen and oxygen). Examples of physiologically inert gases, which have caused accidental or deliberate death by this mechanism, are argon, helium, nitrogen and methane. The term "physiologically inert" is used to indicate a gas which has no toxic or anesthetic properties and do Ac... All the noble gases should work, as well as a plethora of others. That wiki article lists argon, helium, nitrogen and methane as examples. Argon is the most plentiful of the noble gases (actually a larger percentage of the atmosphere than carbon dioxide - almost 1%). You could probably even use radon - if you’re going to die, it hardly matters that you get radiation poisoning while doing it. If anybody is administering it to you, they’ve got some complications in handling it, of course. And I wonder if your corpse would present a radiation hazard. Yeah, it should probably be used for capital punishment. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423/68 "2020-10-24T14:49:54Z")
Xenon is used for general anaesthesia. I don’t know if there is a shortage, but it is not cheap and apparently not available in every random clinic or surgery. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423/69 "2020-10-24T16:33:42Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > You could probably even use radon -[…]. And I wonder if your corpse would present a radiation hazard. Definitely not a radiation hazard. Radon doesn’t combine with anything under normal circumstances, so there won’t be significant amounts on or in the corpse. Maybe some trace amounts trapped in the clothing or lungs or whatever. Not enough to be a hazard. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423/70 "2020-10-24T19:32:47Z")
If you have your parties on Venus, the nitrogen can act as a suitable lifting gas. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423/71 "2020-10-24T19:36:59Z")
Yeah, but what would you make the balloons out of that could take the heat? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423/72 "2020-10-24T19:38:45Z")
I do like that that was the only flaw you saw in my plan. 🙂 But, you can have you parties up in the clouds, 50 km or so up, and it should be a nice comfy weather. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423/73 "2020-10-24T19:44:54Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Yeah, but what would you make the balloons out of that could take the heat? Steel foil would work, even down at the surface. The atmosphere is so dense my WAG is the weight wouldn’t be an issue if you kept the foil thin. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423/74 "2020-10-24T19:50:09Z")
You can make foil out of steel? Huh. What a time to be alive. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423/75 "2020-10-24T20:05:46Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Steel foil would work, even down at the surface. Well, it would work if it didn’t rain hot sulfuric acid on Venus. But I’m pretty sure that would dissolve almost any metal foil in short order. Maybe you could coat it with a thin layer of gold. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423/76 "2020-10-24T20:11:38Z")
Crap! A 100 million mile trip and I plumb forgot about the acid! Better luck next time. This is a genuinely hard problem. There’s so little overlap between Earth surface and Venusian surface conditions that all our hip-pocket ideas fail to account for something. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423/77 "2020-10-24T20:13:25Z")
It’s not a party until it rains sulphuric acid! Come on, man, didn’t you learn anything in college? 😋 ---
**Author:** ![vbob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vbob/32/4439_2.png) [@vbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vbob)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423/78 "2020-10-25T00:56:23Z")
Just have your parties in a pool. A ballon filled with ANY gas will float - even Avgas. ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423/79 "2020-10-25T01:28:33Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Sky lanterns > [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/SkyLanternRichy01.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/SkyLanternRichy01.jpg) > are fun at parties. Just be careful not to burn down any forests. This past summer from my farmer in-laws I learned that the metal bracket on the bottom of these lanterns will stop a hay chopper dead in its tracks. The last few versions of state-of-the-art farm equipment contain metal detectors. He said cruising around the fields going from 25mph to nothing because of an old arrow is not fun. There is more than enough metal here to be detected. And find it they must. It is still inside the chopper, not blown into the wagon/trailer yet. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423/80 "2020-10-25T01:53:00Z")
FTR, this is what happens when one inhales noble gases. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rd5j8mG24H4/hqdefault.jpg "Breathing all the Noble Gases") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd5j8mG24H4) ETA: I had to Google “frobscottle.” It’s from a Roald Dahl book; it’s a carbonated drink where the bubbles sank. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-helium-shortage/923423.md?page=5)