Pionic helium In this experiment, a pion – shown here with one orange and one blue particle representing its quark and anti-quark – replaces one of the two electrons in the helium atom. This new ...

Helium is the second most abundant element, making up roughly a quarter of the (baryonic) matter in the universe. Hydrogen is, of course, the most abundant element. When stars form, they have a ...

In a feat of modern-day alchemy, atom tinkerers have fooled hydrogen atoms into accepting a helium atom as one of their own. The camouflaged atom behaves chemically like hydrogen, but has four times ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. The Universe is out there, waiting for you to discover it. There's a natural resource found beneath Earth's surface that's been ...

My friend Jenny Lawson—aka The Bloggess—is weird. This isn’t casting any aspersions! She would be the first one to admit it. In fact, she does, constantly, on her blog. If you read her book, Let’s ...

Owing to peculiar properties, helium has taken both the main and supporting roles in scientific discoveries over the years. Christine Herman explores just what makes it such a cool element. I was one ...

Watching helium gas lift balloons into the air is a lot of fun — or perhaps a tragedy if that balloon belonged to a small child who let it go. And, who hasn’t sipped the helium gas from a balloon and ...

The blockade of Qatar that started on June 5 has shut down the source of 30% of the world’s helium, threatening another round of shortages and price increases for scientific instrument users. Helium ...