Difference between revisions of "Helium"
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Helium has an interesting history; during the nineteenth century, one of the things some scientists declared to be "impossible"<ref>[http://www.astrophysical.org/astrophysics.php Astrophysical.org]</ref> was the determination of the chemical makeup of the stars. Then spectroscopy was developed, and the composition of the stars became known in great detail. Helium, in particular, was discovered in the Sun (as an unknown element) ''before'' it was discovered on the Earth. It was first found in natural gas in 1905 at the [[University of Kansas]]. <ref>http://www.news.ku.edu/2000/00N/AprNews/Apr7/bailey.html</ref> It was, accordingly, named after ''helios,'' the Greek for the Sun. | Helium has an interesting history; during the nineteenth century, one of the things some scientists declared to be "impossible"<ref>[http://www.astrophysical.org/astrophysics.php Astrophysical.org]</ref> was the determination of the chemical makeup of the stars. Then spectroscopy was developed, and the composition of the stars became known in great detail. Helium, in particular, was discovered in the Sun (as an unknown element) ''before'' it was discovered on the Earth. It was first found in natural gas in 1905 at the [[University of Kansas]]. <ref>http://www.news.ku.edu/2000/00N/AprNews/Apr7/bailey.html</ref> It was, accordingly, named after ''helios,'' the Greek for the Sun. | ||
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==Notes and references== | ==Notes and references== | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
[[Category:Elements]] | [[Category:Elements]] | ||
Revision as of 20:41, May 15, 2007
| Helium | |
|---|---|
| Properties | |
| Atomic symbol | He |
| Atomic number | 2 |
| Classification | Noble Gas |
| Atomic mass | 4.0026 amu |
| Other Information | |
| Date of discovery | August 18, 1868 |
| Name of discoverer | Pierre Janssen |
| Name origin | from Helios the Greek Sun god |
| Uses | Unknown |
| Obtained from | . |
Helium is the second element on the periodic table of elements. It is also the second most abundant element in the universe, after hydrogen. Helium is thought by some to have been created initially in The Big Bang creation event[1]; however this is disputed [2],but what seems to be generally agreed is that subsequently helium has been created by by nuclear fusion in the center of stars [3].
Helium has an interesting history; during the nineteenth century, one of the things some scientists declared to be "impossible"[4] was the determination of the chemical makeup of the stars. Then spectroscopy was developed, and the composition of the stars became known in great detail. Helium, in particular, was discovered in the Sun (as an unknown element) before it was discovered on the Earth. It was first found in natural gas in 1905 at the University of Kansas. [5] It was, accordingly, named after helios, the Greek for the Sun.
Notes and references
- ↑ For a detailed account of this see: http://www.lbl.gov/abc/wallchart/chapters/10/0.html
- ↑ see http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/ApJ/journal/issues/ApJL/v509n1/985623/985623.web.pdf
- ↑ A detailed account of this can be found at http://zebu.uoregon.edu/textbook/energygen.html
- ↑ Astrophysical.org
- ↑ http://www.news.ku.edu/2000/00N/AprNews/Apr7/bailey.html