Helium is a colorless, ordorless and tasteless chemical element. It has the lowest boiling and melting points amongst all the elements and is found primarily as a gas. To know more about the chemical properties of Helium, see the following links: en.wikipedia.org and www.lenntech.com
Helium was discovered by Sir, Ramsay in 1895 and it is a noble gas with an atomic weight of 2. It is colorless and odorless gas. It is the second lightest element of the periodic table and is manly found in natural gas fields. It is an excellent conductor. Its melting point is - 272.2 °C while the boiling point is - 268.9 °C. This means that this element ahs a low boiling point, low melting point, low density and high conductivity. It is the second most abundant element in the entire universe after hydrogen as it is formed due to radioactive decay. It is used in filling balloons etc. It can also be liquefied and then used as well. It has two known isotopes.
Discovery: Janssen, 1868, some sources say Sir William Ramsey, Nils Langet, P.T. Cleve 1895
Electron Configuration: 1s2
Word Origin: Greek: Helios, sun. Helium was first detected as a new spectral line during a solar eclipse.
Isotopes: 7 isotopes of helium are known.
Properties: Helium is a very light, inert, colorless gas. Helium has the lowest melting point of any element. It is the only liquid that cannot be solidified by lowering the temperature. It remains liquid down to absolute zero at ordinary pressures, but can be solidified by increasing the pressure. The specific heat of helium gas is unusually high.
