Helium - 1 of 3

For your consideration...the following is an excerpt from a radio spot on KAPL radio, Jacksonville, Oregon, called " Akin For the Truth". To listen to the entire spot (a few minutes long), click the little microphone icon....Jack

As most of us know, to one degree or another, our atmosphere is a mixture of a number of different gases. The atmosphere is the mixture of gases and other materials that surround the Earth in a thin, mostly transparent shell. It is held in place by the Earth's gravity. The main components are nitrogen (78.09%), oxygen (20.95%), argon (0.93%), and carbon dioxide (0.03%).

We are immersed in an ocean of air and, at sea level, we are at its bottom. Air weighs about .075 pounds per cubic foot. As a result of all the air above us, we experience about 14.7 pounds per square foot of atmospheric pressure.

But among the other gases in the atmosphere we could discuss today, helium is very interesting.