Helium prices ballooning

Short form: people are finally starting to figure out that we’re running out of helium. While that would be an irritant for the “party balloon” aficionados, people who like things that are welded together might be in for a bit of a shock. Blimps can replace their helium with hydrogen, but that would be an unwise choice for welders. Helium is also handy for pressurization systems, such as pressure-fed rockets; it’s light, chemically neutral and doesn’t go into solution in some propellants the way others can (having had entertaining times trying to pressurize nitrous oxide with nitrogen and had it turn into seltzer water…). Additionally: helium is useful as an “ullage medium” in rocketry… when the propellant is expelled from the tank, such as by being drawn out through a turbopump, injecting helium into the tank replaces the propellant and keeps the tank properly pressurized.

Also: helium is great as a coolant for superconducting applications. Without helium, kiss MRI’s goodbye.