Helium Through History: From Sun Signatures to a Tightening Supply

Summary

In this segment from NPR's Short Wave, the journey of helium unfolds from its solar origins to its surprising scarcity on Earth. The episode explains how helium is created deep inside the Earth through radioactive decay, why it escapes Earth’s gravity, and how a Kansas well in 1903 revealed helium’s true underground abundance. It then links helium's unique properties to critical applications, including its nonflammability in airships, its role in cooling magnets for MRI and quantum devices, and its essential part in rocket propulsion across the Apollo era. The discussion also touches on current supply dynamics, the concentration of production in a few regions, and what the helium shortage could mean for scientific research and industry.

Origin, Discovery, and the Earth Sun Paradox

The podcast opens with a primer on helium and a deep dive into its origin story, noting that the element was identified in the solar spectrum before it was found on Earth. The discussion highlights Jules Janssen and Norman Lockyer, who named helium after Helios, the sun god, and explains why Earth’s surface hosts only trace amounts of helium despite its abundance in the universe. The host and experts explain that helium escapes the atmosphere because it is so light, and only a small, slowly accumulating amount sits in Earth’s rocks and pockets due to underground radioactive decay of uranium and thorium.

“"Helium on Earth is created by the natural radioactive decay of heavier elements like uranium and thorium, actually inside the Earth." - Jeff Brumfield

From Dexter, Kansas, to Helium’s Hidden Habitat

The narrative then follows the Dexter, Kansas gas discovery of 1903, where a well released millions of cubic feet of gas daily. The townsfolk’s celebration culminates in lighting a hay bale, a risky ploy that unexpectedly confirms helium’s presence rather than ordinary natural gas. This early episode demonstrates helium’s value and its potential as a commercial resource, even before dedicated industrial uses became clear. The story transitions into how helium is formed and stored underground, drifting upward through crustal pockets and accumulating in confined spaces as a nonreactive, light gas.

"Helium was actually used in every stage of the Apollo program, from the giant Saturn V rocket to the lunar lander." - Jeff Brumfield

Helium in War, Space, and Modern Science

The podcast connects helium to major 20th-century milestones: its nonflammability made helium a safer alternative to hydrogen for airships in World War I, and it underpinned rocket propulsion in the space race. The segment explains helium’s pivotal role in the Apollo program, where it assisted engines and various stages of rockets, and continues to be indispensable in modern cryogenics, enabling superconducting magnets used in MRI machines and quantum computing components. The host introduces a chemist, Sophia Hayes, who describes how liquid helium cools magnets to extreme lows essential for superconductivity and for magnetic resonance imaging, underscoring why helium supply is tightly linked to medical technology and advanced research.

"MRIs are actually a part of the reason that helium is in such short supply now" - Jeff Brumfield

Current Supply Realities and the Path Forward

Turning to present-day realities, the episode identifies three primary helium producers—Algeria, Qatar, and the United States—and discusses how geopolitical tensions and shipping chokepoints influence supply. The host explains that a crisis in Gulf shipping, the Strait of Hormuz, and regional conflicts can lead to price volatility and the need for researchers to rethink experimental planning as liquid helium supplies tighten. The discussion acknowledges that alternative gas fields exist and notes that what eventually happens to Earth’s helium depends on how quickly new sources can be mobilized and how long the atmosphere holds helium before it leaks away. The segment closes with reflections on the broader impact for science and industry, including the potential effects on laboratories, superconducting research infrastructure, and even emerging quantum computing efforts that rely on helium cooling.

"there are other natural gas fields in other parts of the world that do produce helium, and they're not being harnessed right now" - Sophia Hayes