this post was submitted on 11 Nov 2026
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The problem with helium is that once we're out, we're out. It's the second-most abundant atom, yes, but it doesn't react with anything, can't freeze, and escapes the planet when exposed to open air.
The only source we have of it is radioactive decay, and it's not something we can manufacture in any volume. I think the only way to make it would be in a supercollider one atom at a time.
Radioactive decay is the source, yes, which means we won't be out of it until the earth is out of all of the radioactive isotopes that are undergoing alpha decay.
By the time that happens, Bussard collectors will probably escape from the realm of fiction.
Yes, but right now it's "cheap" because it's a byproduct of natural gas mining. As we transition off fossil fuels it won't be so easy to acquire.
One of the reasons the shortage was alleviated was the expansion of gas mining and the subsequent discovery of a bunch in Tanzenia.