Why The Global Helium Shortage Affects You More Than You Think

A global helium shortage might not sound like the most pressing global problem our species has to deal with. Are we dangerously short on balloons and/or means of making our voices squeaky? As global crises go, a helium shortage somehow lacks the immediacy of, say, running out of clean water or microchips.

In fact, it's a bigger problem than it sounds. Liquid helium is widely used as a coolant and a nonreactive substance in engineering. Its biggest role in daily life, at least in places with solid health infrastructure, is as a vital component of MRI machines (via Techspot). Modern MRIs require upwards of 2000 liters of helium to function. MRI machines use superconducting magnets to generate resonance, then create detailed images of that resonance moving through subjects, notably human bodies.

The problem with superconductors is that they only work when they're very cold. In fact, finding a superconductor that works at ambient temperatures is a bit of a scientific Holy Grail, one that has never been achieved and has recently generated some drama (via Nature). Until and unless someone actually discovers a room-temperature superconductor, liquid helium, which stays liquid at −452.20 degrees Fahrenheit, will remain a reliable way to keep superconducting technology like MRIs acceptably chill.

As reported above, however, we may be running out of helium. For how, why and what humanity can do about it, read on.

First, for a quick but thorough take on the global helium situation, noted Internet Thing Explainer Hank Green can read you in:

Helium is currently a nonrenewable resource. Most of the helium used on Earth to date was originally captured as a byproduct of natural gas drilling. A combination of decreased fossil fuel consumption and global instability has significantly impacted the availability of that helium (via WIRED). Hence, shortage.

As both WIRED and Green note, the current helium shortage is an engineering problem, not a we're-running-out problem. While it is a nonrenewable resource, there are still many sources of underground helium on Earth (via Smithsonian) –- its status as a cheap byproduct of a common industrial process has just disincentivized the creation of technology specifically designed to capture helium. What we used to grab along with our natural gas took care of our helium needs.

As with other issues, the best solution is likely recycling. Applications that use liquid helium often lose it as it transitions to gas and enters the atmosphere. People in the medical field and other areas of wide liquid helium usage are innovating to stop that wastage and get more use out of the same amount of helium (via UCSC and NASA).

In short, the shortage is scary but solvable. Helium availability is not yet a crisis but it will require serious investments of time and engineering know-how to fully remedy. In the meantime, feel free to get your child or inner child a balloon, but maybe skip the squeaky-voice thing. It's bad for you.