Helium was discovered by a French astronomer named Pierre-Julius-Cesar
Janssen. The French astronomer got evidence for the element during solar
eclipse in 1868. He detected new lines in the solar spectrum. Later in
1895 Sir William Ramsay discovered it in clevite, a uranium mineral.
Although it was discovered by Sir William Ramsay, the identification of
the element was left up to Sir William Crookes and Sir Norman Lockyer.
The origin of the Name - From the Greek "helium" meaning sun. The use
would be for filling balloons, intern gas shield for arc welding,
protective gas in growing silicon, cooling medium for nuclear reactors,
and gas for supersonic wind tunnels.

There is hazards to using helium that most people are not aware of. The
public needs to be aware and understand it is not for inhaling. Some
teenagers think inhaling helium at parties is fun. But what they don't
know it is also fatel. An aspect of inhaling is a person may lose
consciousness due to asphyxia (oxygen deprivation). During the exchange of
gases in the normal breathing process, the blood stream absorbs oxygen
from air in the lungs, while carbon dioxide passes from the blood to the
air. When you hold your breath, the exchange of gases slows, as "stale"
air in the lungs is no longer replaced by "fresh" air. Oxygen is
actually removed from the blood stream during the exchange of gases.
depending on how completely oxygen is replaced by helium, you may lose
consciousness quickly and without warning - you may literally pass out
while still standing. The usual result is an uncontrolled fall that can
cause serious injury, even if normal breathing resumes before brain damage
occurs due to lack of oxygen. This is to inform you that inhaling
helium can cause more than a funny voice. It can cause serious injuries.

Helium is not flammable, but it is sold as a compressed gas which can
become a hazard if handled improperly. Helium is an element. After it is
released into our atmosphere, it is so light that it floats off into outer
space. Once current supplies trapped underground are exhausted, we'll all
be out of luck. The only way to "manufacture" helium is by the
radioactive decay ("alpha particles" ) of elements like Uranium, Thorium,
Radium, Radon, Polonium, etc. It is also possible to produce Helium by
fusion of Hydrogen isotopes - the way the sun does it - but it will be<...