Blimp, helium

Helium gas is twice as dense as hydrogen under the same conditions. However, because its density is still very low and it is nonflammable, it is used to provide buoyancy in airships such as blimps. Helium is also used to dilute the oxygen used in deep-sea diving, to pressurize rocket fuels, as a coolant, and in helium-neon lasers. The element has the lowest boiling point of any substance (4.2 K), and it does not freeze to a solid at any temperature unless pressure is applied to hold the light, mobile atoms... 

Helium is also used to inflate balloons and other lighter-than-air craft, such as dirigibles (blimps). Helium does not have the lifting power of hydrogen. However, hydrogen is flammable and helium is not. 

Alpha particles, He , are released by nuclear decay of naturally occurring uranium and thorium ores. They are high-energy nuclei of helium-4, which capture two electrons apiece to become helium atoms. The low density and lack of flammability of helium make it an appropriate gas for lighter-than-air airships such as blimps. Helium is found in the atmosphere with a concentration of 5.24 ppm (parts per million by volume). 

Hydrogen is explosively flammable and is dangerous to use in blimps. Helium, being a noble gas, is not reactive. 

C05-0019. Helium is used for lighter-than-air blimps, whereas argon is used to exclude air from flasks in which air-sensitive syntheses are performed. Calculate the densities of these two noble gases at 295 K and 1.0 atm, and explain why the two gases have different uses. 

Today, airships, or blimps, are filled with helium. Helium, like hydrogen, is lighter than air but unlike hydrogen, helium is a noble gas and is chemically inert, or inactive. The helium does not combust. 

For an inactive gas, helium has a surprising number of applications. It is used in low-temperamre research, for filling balloons and dirigibles (blimps), to pressurize rocket fuels, in welding operations, in lead detection systems, in neon signs, and to protect objects from reacting with oxygen. 

Helium is used to inflate dirigibles, such as blimps. IMAGE COPYRIGHT 2009, ER 09. USED UNDER LICENSE FROM SHUTTERSTOCK.COM. 

The noble gases make up Group 18 of the periodic table. Helium, whose low density makes it ideal for use in blimps, is an example of a noble gas. 

Columbia, one of the Goodyear blimps, requires 5210 m of helium to fill the balloon at 20°C and 101.3 kPa. Helium may be purchased in standard gas cylinders of 23 cm diameter and 132 cm height pressurized to 15,200 kPa. If Goodyear were to fill the blimp with these cylinders at 32 per cylinder, how much would it cost Helium behaves ideally at these conditions. 

Helium is the main element that allows this blimp to defy gravity and stay afloat. Light bulbs stay lit because of argon. Headlights in this new car contain xenon. 

Hydrogen is no longer used in blimps and dirigibles. It has been replaced by helium, which is slightly denser, nonflammable, and much safer. 

Today, airships are filled with helium (its molar mass is 4 g) and are used principally for advertising and television. A Goodyear blimp can be seen hovering over almost every significant outdoor sporting event. 

Problem A scale model of a blimp rises when it is filled with helium to a volume of... 

Plan We are given the initial amount of helium (ni), the initial volume of the blimp (V ), and the volume needed for it to rise (V2), and we need the additional mass of helium to make it rise. So we first need to find 2. We rearrange the ideal gas law to the appropriate form, solve for /i2, subtract n to find the additional amount (nadd i). and then convert moles to grams. We predict that H2> n because V2 > V. ... 

Helium is used for air-ships, blimps, etc, its non-inflammability rendering it particularly suitable for these purposes although its lifting power is only hair that of pure hydrogen. To a limited extent helium is employed in thermometry and in lamps for yielding the A line in optical work. When inhaled with oxygen, helium is used as a cure for asthma and other ailments, such as croup and diphtheria, in which the windpipe is obstructed. 

Helium has many uses. For example, it is used to fill blimps and weather balloons. In addition, because of its very low boiling point (-452 °F), it is used as an extreme coolant in scientific experiments. 

Helium was identified by its characteristic emission spectrum as a component of the sun before it was found on earth. The major sources of helium on earth are natural gas deposits, where helium was formed from the a-particle decay of radioactive elements. The a particle is a helium nucleus that can easily pick up electrons from the environment to form a helium atom. Although helium forms no compounds, it is an important substance that is used as a coolant, as a pressurizing gas for rocket fuels, as a diluent in the gases used for deep-sea diving and spaceship atmospheres, and as the gas in lighter-than-air airships (blimps). 

Most of us are familiar with the element helium. It is the very light gas used to inflate party balloons and make them float. Blimps are also filled wifh helium. 

The Goodyear blimps, which frequently fly over sporting events, hold approximately 175,000 ft of helium. If the gas is at 23 °C and 1.0 atm, what mass of helium is in a blimp ... 

Membranes have found appHcation in helium gas recovery. Deep-diving gases employ helium mixtures that become contaminated. A combination of membranes and adsorbents are employed in purification of these gases for reuse. Small membrane systems are also employed in the purification of helium used in blimps. With time, the hehum gas that inflates these hghter-than-air craft becomes contaminated with atmospheric gases. These contaminants are readily rejected by operating a small compressor and membrane unit to reject the contaminants and return purified helium to the craft. 

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