Helium is the chemical element with atomic number
2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the
symbol He.
Things you
might not know about Helium:
- Helium is the
second most abundant element in the universe after hydrogen.
- Helium is
significantly less dense than air. As a result, the speed of sound
is much higher in helium. By inhaling helium you are effectively
increasing the speed of the sound of your voice. The configuration
of your vocal tract does not change; however, since each element of
speech is composed of a pattern of several frequencies, altering
the speed of sound distorts that pattern. Result: you sound like
Donald Duck
- Helium is often
mixed with oxygen for deep sea diving to help reduce the effects of
narcosis.
- One quarter of the
mass in the Universe is made up of Helium Atoms.
See GC2XAY2 - Hydrogen, for an explanation
about this series of caches.