Helium-filled hard drives used to map first image of black hole

by Kathi Leiden | Sep 9, 2015 | Helium, Helium Science, Helium Uses

Astronomers are using helium-filled hard drives to capture the first-ever image of a supermassive black hole – a feat that proved impossible with regular drives. Mapping an image of a black hole At the top of Sierra Negra in Mexico, a mere 15,000 feet above sea level,...

Helium-based test finds cocaine on most paper money

by Kathi Leiden | Sep 3, 2015 | Helium, Helium Science, Helium Uses

If you have cash on you, you’re have cocaine on you. That’s what new research that uses a special helium-based testing technology suggests. In August of 2009, Dr. Yuegang Zuo of the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth presented the findings of his...

How latex balloons are made

by Kathi Leiden | Sep 2, 2015 | Helium, Helium Uses

They might be commonplace for most of us, but when you learn what goes into the making of latex balloons, you’ll never look at them the same again. Latex balloons start in the forest It all starts with a tree. Hevea brasiliensis is native to the Amazon where it...

Will helium-filled footballs travel farther than air-filled?

by Kathi Leiden | Aug 31, 2015 | Helium, Helium Science, Helium Stunts

Decades before “Deflategate,” an NFL controversy arose after claims that a punter was using helium-filled balls to get more hang time. But- would that work? A helium-filled controversy On November 13, 1977, Oakland Raiders punter Ray Guy was hanging kicks in the air...

Helium-powered USS Macon wreckage mapped after 80 years

by Kathi Leiden | Aug 27, 2015 | Helium, Helium News

Thanks to a legendary explorer and the Internet, the helium-powered USS Macon that crashed into the sea in 1935 can be explored by us all. (Footage below) A helium-powered aircraft carrier The USS Macon (ZRS-5) was a helium-powered Navy airship that was designed to...