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Air is comprised of nominally 21% oxygen and 79% nitrogen. All other gases, including helium, contained in air comprise well under one percent of the total mix. Nitrogen has some negative side effects when breathed at the pressures required for diving. Helium is used in a breathing gas mix in place of nitrogen.
Since it is a small molecule gas (it has 28% of the molecular weight of nitrogen), a diver's body tissues absorb and release helium much more quickly than they do nitrogen. This reduces the risk of decompression illness when compared to a nitrogen-rich gas like air. Helium also has the advantage of not being narcotic. Nitrogen, at the elevated pressures at depth, can cause a symptom called nitrogen narcosis.
The net result of these two factors is that divers using helium in place of nitrogen can dive to deeper depths for longer periods. Deep commercial "saturation" dives and deep "technical" dives are often performed using a helium/oxygen gas mix called heliox.
There are also disadvantages to using helium. The most significant of these is its scarcity and resulting high cost. World supplies of helium are critically low and the cost continues to rise. As a result, helium is most often used by divers using rebreathers and in surface supplied and deep saturation diving, all of which conserve breathing gas.
Helium also conducts heat six times more efficiently than air. This introduces the risk of hypothermia if a diver uses their heliox breathing gas to inflate their dry suit. Commercial and technical divers using heliox as a breathing gas often carry a separate cylinder of argon to keep their dry suit inflated at depth.
A gas called trimix, consisting of oxygen, helium and nitrogen is often used in place of pure heliox. This achieves some of the advantages of heliox at a greatly reduced cost.
Wiki User
∙ 10y ago
Wiki User
∙ 10y agoA mixture of oxygen and helium (some times containing nitrogen or a small percentage of oxygen) is used to avoid the phenomenon of narcosis when only pure oxygen is used; also helium make the effort for breathing easier.
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Is helium the noble gas that is commercially used the most?
Yes, helium is the noble gas that is commercially used the most. It is commonly used in various industries, including cryogenics, deep-sea diving, and as a carrier gas for gas chromatography. Additionally, helium is commonly used to fill balloons for celebrations and events.
Scuba tanks have wh at noble gas in them?
Some advanced divers dive using gas mixtures including Helium.
What happens when you put neon gas and helium gas together?
Nothing. Helium and CO2 are non reactive with each other. Helium is a noble gas and not reactive at all. This mixture is used as a welding shield to minimize slag, and if oxygen is also included it is used as a deep diving air mix.
What are two uses of Helium?
lifting gas, balloons and blimpshelium neon lasers"neon" signsinert gas, arc weldingpurge gasrefrigerantlow temperature thermometersalpha particles for acceleratorsreplacement for nitrogen in breathing mixture for deep diving (prevent the bends)carrier gas, chromatographyetc.
What do you use the element helium for?
Helium is a noble gas with the chemical symbol He.As helium is lighter than air, airships and balloons can be filled with the gas to gain lift.Helium is used to condense hydrogen and oxygen to make rocket fuel.Helium can be added to oxygen tanks so that divers can breath more easily. This is especially important for people that go deep diving (over 450 ft below sea level).Used in helium-neon lasers. These lasers can be used to read barcodes.Helium can be used to detect leaks in high-vacuum and high-pressure equipment.For materials easily contaminated by air, helium is used as a shielding gas in the arc welding process.Helium is used as a protective gas when growing silicon and germanium crystals and when producing titanium and zirconium. It is a fantastic protective gas as it is inert (unreactive).The age of rocks which contain uranium and thorium can be estimated using helium dating.Helium is often used as a carrier gas in gas chromatography.Helium can be used to detect leaks (small fractures) in some vessels.
Is helium the noble gas that is commercially used the most?
Yes, helium is the noble gas that is commercially used the most. It is commonly used in various industries, including cryogenics, deep-sea diving, and as a carrier gas for gas chromatography. Additionally, helium is commonly used to fill balloons for celebrations and events.
Why scuba divers use mixture of nitrogen and oxygen?
Most very deep dives are done in trimix, which is a mix of oxygen (actually very little of that), helium and nitrogen.For really deep dives, divers use heliox, which is a mix of pure helium and oxygen.And for really stupidly deep dives, divers use hyrdeliox(hydrogen, helium and oxygen).
Scuba tanks have wh at noble gas in them?
Some advanced divers dive using gas mixtures including Helium.
Why do divers use helium gas in diving?
Helium is actually only rarely used in scuba tanks, and then only when blended with other gases (most commonl oxygen and nitrogen to make trimix). However, the main purpose of adding helium is to reduce the narcotic effects of other gases when you descend to greater depths.Breathing normal air, divers begin to experience nitrogen narcosis (or the "rapture of the deep") at about 100 feet. Beyond about 130 feet it starts to become debilitating. Beyond about 170 feet, divers can be rendered completely insensible. But with helium mixes, divers have been able to dive safely as deep at 300 - 400 feet.
Without this noble lightweight the Goodyear Company would never have gotten off the ground and scuba divers would really be hurting?
The Noble of gas of helium (He) allows for the Goodyear Blimp (an airship) to rise. Helium (heliox) mixtures also allow for deep scuba diving.
What happens when you put neon gas and helium gas together?
Nothing. Helium and CO2 are non reactive with each other. Helium is a noble gas and not reactive at all. This mixture is used as a welding shield to minimize slag, and if oxygen is also included it is used as a deep diving air mix.
What are two uses of Helium?
lifting gas, balloons and blimpshelium neon lasers"neon" signsinert gas, arc weldingpurge gasrefrigerantlow temperature thermometersalpha particles for acceleratorsreplacement for nitrogen in breathing mixture for deep diving (prevent the bends)carrier gas, chromatographyetc.
What do you use the element helium for?
Helium is a noble gas with the chemical symbol He.As helium is lighter than air, airships and balloons can be filled with the gas to gain lift.Helium is used to condense hydrogen and oxygen to make rocket fuel.Helium can be added to oxygen tanks so that divers can breath more easily. This is especially important for people that go deep diving (over 450 ft below sea level).Used in helium-neon lasers. These lasers can be used to read barcodes.Helium can be used to detect leaks in high-vacuum and high-pressure equipment.For materials easily contaminated by air, helium is used as a shielding gas in the arc welding process.Helium is used as a protective gas when growing silicon and germanium crystals and when producing titanium and zirconium. It is a fantastic protective gas as it is inert (unreactive).The age of rocks which contain uranium and thorium can be estimated using helium dating.Helium is often used as a carrier gas in gas chromatography.Helium can be used to detect leaks (small fractures) in some vessels.
The gas element used in deep-sea diving?
Deep-sea diving act of descending into deep water, with some breathing apparatus, help them to remain there for an extended period. There can be multiple gases used depending on desired depth and length of dive the common is a tri-mixed gas of Nitrogen, Oxygen, and Helium.
What are important facts about helium?
helium is used in gas ballons .it is the lighter gas
How or in what is helium used?
either for balloons, or whip it's.
Is helium used for anything?
Helium is used to fill airships, balloons and helium is pumped into oxygen tanks for divers.
