Getting to Know Helium-3: The Perfect Fuel of the Future
Helium-3 is creating a very loud buzz around the science circles, government agencies, and the business sector. Everyone is talking about the possibilities of having the perfect fuel source. Imagine how the quality of air will improve when we don’t have fossil fuels burning in the engines of our vehicles. Imagine a small amount of a substance that can power entire nations or the entire globe. There is a really great potential in Helium-3.
Meet Helium-3
A 40 metric ton supply of Helium-3 can power the whole of the United States for 12 straight months. You are reading it right. It may sound impossible but everyone is doing all what they can to maximize its potential.
The existence of Helium-3 was first suggested by Mark Oliphant, an Australian physicist, in 1934 during a nuclear fusion experiment conducted in the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University.
Helium-3 is a gas coming from the sun. It reaches different parts of space as solar winds are blown from the surface of our sun. Our atmosphere protects from these outbursts of the fusion reaction of the sun. It also prevents a lot Helium-3 from getting into the earth’s surface.
Our closest neighbor in space, the moon does not have an atmosphere though. It is exposed to the sun’s radiation and Helium-3 can be found in its soil. Add to the picture millions of meteorites that have been hitting the lunar surface for the past billion of years, stirring the dust and making it rich in Helium-3 up to a meter deep or more.
Physical Properties of Helium-3
Compared to the ordinary helium gas that makes your voice squeak when inhaled from a balloon, Helium-3 is an isotope of Helium which contains two protons and a neutron.
The mass of Helium-3 is measured at 3.0160293 which is a lot lower than another Helium isotope, the Helium-4 which has a mass of 4.0026. Helium-3 boils faster at 3.19 Kelvin while the Helium-4 boils at 4.23 Kelvin.
Helium-3 is not radioactive in itself. It can be reacted with deuterium to produce Helium-4 and a proton of high energy. The potential of using this as an energy source may have about 70% efficiency. Worldwide, experts are trying to find a way to make Helium-3 usage as an energy source a reality. The task at hand is great but so are the possibilities which can make life better.