helium

he·li·um  (hl-m)

n. Symbol He

A colorless, odorless inert gaseous element occurring in natural gas and with radioactive ores. It is used as a component of artificial atmospheres and laser media, as a refrigerant, as a lifting gas for balloons, and as a superfluid in cryogenic research. Atomic number 2; atomic weight 4.0026; boiling point -268.9°C; density at 0°C 0.1785 gram per liter. See Table at element.

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[From Greek hlios, sun (so called because its existence was deduced from the solar spectrum); see swel- in Indo-European roots.]

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helium [heel-ee-um]

Noun

Chem a very light colourless odourless inert gas Symbol: He[Greek hēlios sun, because first detected in the solar spectrum]

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helium  (hl-m)

Symbol He

A very lightweight, colorless, odorless element in the noble gas group. Helium occurs in natural gas, in radioactive ores, and in small amounts in the atmosphere. It has the lowest boiling point of any substance and is the second most abundant element in the universe. Helium is used to provide lift for balloons and blimps and to create artificial air that will not react chemically. Atomic number 2; atomic weight 4.0026; boiling point -268.9°C; density at 0°C 0.1785 gram per liter. See Periodic Table.

Word History The second most abundant element in the universe after hydrogen, Helium (symbol He) is a colorless, odorless, nonmetallic gas that is produced abundantly by the nuclear fusion in all stars and is found in smaller amounts on Earth. It was discovered by the British scientistand founding editor of the journal NatureJoseph Norman Lockyer in 1868, while he was studying a solar eclipse with a spectroscope, an instrument that breaks light up into a spectrum. If an element is heated up enough to glow, the emitted light produces a unique spectrum when refracted through a prism. Lockyer noticed that the spectrum of the Sun's corona, which is visible only during a solar eclipse, contained lines produced by an unknown element. He named the element helium from helios, the Greek word for "sun." Helios gives us many other words pertaining to the Sun, such as heliocentric and perihelion.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

helium - a very light colorless element that is one of the six inert gasses; the most difficult gas to liquefy; occurs in economically extractable amounts in certain natural gases (as those found in Texas and Kansas) atomic number 2, He chemical element, element - any of the more than 100 known substances (of which 92 occur naturally) that cannot be separated into simpler substances and that singly or in combination constitute all matter argonon, inert gas, noble gas - any of the chemically inert gaseous elements of the helium group in the periodic table

Translations

helium [ˈhiːlɪəm] n → helio

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helium [ˈhiːlɪəm] n → hélium m

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helium [ˈhiːlɪəm] n → Helium nt

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helium [ˈhiːlɪəm] n → elio

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helium

n helium [ˈhiːliəm]

an element, a very light gas which does not burn and which is used eg in balloons. helium هيليوم хелий hélium helium das Helium ήλιο helio heelium گازهليوم helium hélium הֶליוּם हीलियम, एक गैस helij hélium helium helíum elio ヘリウム 헬륨 helis hēlijs helium helium helium hel hélio heliu гелий hélium helij helijum helium ก๊าซเฉื่อยชนิดหนึ่งไม่มีสี ไม่มีกลิ่น มีสัญลักษณ์คือ He helyum 氦 гелій ایک بے رنگ ہلکی گیس جو قدرتی معدنی گیس کے ساتھ ملی جلی ہوتی ہے khí hêli 氦