Everything Matters: Helium

Tales from the Periodic Table

with Ron Hipschman
Thursday, January 29, 7:30PM
Phyllis C. Wattis Webcast Studio, Exploratorium, Pier 15, San Francisco
Included with museum admission
Adults Only (18+)

http://www.exploratorium.edu/visit/calendar/everything-matters-helium-jan-29-2015

http://www.exploratorium.edu/about/staff/scientists/ron-hipschman
Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe. Then why is there a global helium shortage? Follow the trail of our spendthrift affair with this elusive noble gas, and find out why its future remains up in the air. Learn about helium’s many uses, from lifting parade floats to cooling magnets in MRI machines, and take part in a lighthearted experiment to raise – and lower – the pitch of your voice with the help of helium and sulfur hexafluoride.

The periodic table outlines the fundamental building blocks of all known matter in the universe. Composed of irreducible atoms, these elements arrived from the earliest reports of the Big Bang, the fusion wombs of stars and supernova, and collisions between interstellar matter and cosmic rays – as well as through artificial production in the lab. A scant 4.9% of the universe (the rest being dark matter and energy), the 118 elements currently arrayed on the periodic table display unique and yet beautifully related properties and behaviors. To us, they mean everything: from iron to uranium, their discovery and use have shaped the course of human history.

Come be in your elements with Exploratorium host and scientific raconteur Ron Hipschman. Follow tales of intrigue and invention, join in dynamic demonstrations, and uncover fascinating connections between individual elements and our collective experience.