Huge underground helium pool found In Africa

[Still Waters]

Helium is an inert gas that is a key component in weather balloons, MRI machines, welding, and many more industries. But it is also very rare, with the only known sources found simply as byproducts of oil and gas drilling. There are occasionally helium shortages that drive up the price of the precious gas. Helium is viewed as a dwindling resource to researchers and people in the medical community, who rely on it for MRI's and other important items like the Large Hadron Collider.

Researchers have even gotten to a point where they've started speaking out against the use of helium in party balloons.

But now there might be a reason to breathe a little bit easier.

http://www.popsci.com/researchers-just-found-huge-helium-reserve-in-africa

[pallidin]

Interesting read. Glad that a new underground source was found.

Say, if anyone here knows, WHY is helium important for MRI machines and the LHC?

[pallidin]

Huh. found this...

Liquid helium is used to cool down the superconductive magnets coil in MRI scanners to a temperature below 10 Kelvin. 

Superconductivity is a physical effect that occurs in various materials when they are subjected to extremely low temperatures. 

Superconductivity enables an electrical current to flow through an electrical conductor without creating electrical resistance, resulting in zero losses. 

Liquid helium is the only medium cold enough to promote superconductivity in metal alloys. 
 

Source: http://www.lindeus.com/en/industries/medical/_mri/liquid_helium.html

[LV-426]

Imagine how squeaky you could make your voice sound inhaling that lot!

Sorry... lowering the tone as usual

[Nnicolette]

I for one think its a horrible idea to continue removing any gas pockets from the ground. It seems like only so much can come out before sink holes occur. It also seems like enough ocean water out there to cover the land i wouldnt want to settle or collapse it any further.

[Myles]

Wouldn't it have been great if they made this announcement on video after inhaling helium?