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...and cue a 4,000% markup on what an MRI costs.
Don't worry though, I'm sure the price will go back down once the artificial shortage that generated it is addressed (chuckle)
this post was submitted on 26 Jan 2024
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On the plus side, we're going to see a lot more funding for superconductor research
Say it with me everybody: FUCK THIS SHITHOLE COUNTRY AND SELLING OFF ALL OUR PUBLIC RESOURCES TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER
Standing with ya here in Canada, we keep doing the same. Bill Gates get wild profits from Canada National Rails because our brilliant politicians sold it in 95
HIGHEST BIDDER
And all that helium will help them get even higher!
the only element on Earth cold enough to make an MRI machine work.
I didn't know that elements had a defined temperature. Bang up reporting there, NBC.
Helium doesn't freeze because quantum mechanics. gestures furious
That means liquid helium can cool stuff to temperatures where nitrogen would be solid. This is used on the superconducting magnets in MRIs.
Helium can be cold enough for MRI yes. But the way its reported makes it seem that helium is always cold, which is not true.
If you treat Helium right he remains pretty chill. But if you wrong Helium, Helium gonna get cold as ice.
Helium is right behind you
Sure, but they're right that is the only elements that works for this purpose.
"remains liquid at cold enough temperatures" != "the element is cold enough"
I bet it is frozen at 0 K
They're not here to teach you, they're here to sell clicks
Elements certainly do have defined temperatures! In this case it's the freezing temperature that matters, which for helium is... not.
Ok what temperature is iron then?
The freezing temp of iron? It is about 1200°c
Well, they're not really wrong, there's are only two elements that make any sense to use here, helium and hydrogen.
The thing is, the job they want these elements for is as a coolant. The best state of matter for a coolant is definitely liquid, a liquid flows much better and makes better contact for thermal transfer than a solid, and it's much more dense than a gas (so it can pull more heat away).
But, at these very low temperatures, the only elements that won't freeze into a solid are helium and hydrogen. That said, hydrogen would make an even more efficient coolant than helium, so they're wrong that helium is the only elements that works. Hydrogen is pretty impractical though, it's hard to contain, it reacts with everything, it's more expensive.
For years there's been reports about how unnecessarily cheap helium is. For instance, helium balloons should be very expensive.
If the companies buying this up sell it for what it's value is, we could be looking at $100 helium balloons.
MRIs could also get more expensive
the only element on Earth cold enough to make an MRI machine work.
[...]
liquid helium, the Earth’s coldest element,
What the fuck? The author clearly failed middle school science class. How did this article get past editorial review?
What do you mean? Liquid helium does have the lowest boiling point, allowing for extremely cold liquid cooling.
I think they mean the phrasing used was a bit too oversimplified.
I kind of seeing like saying "the world's fastest car". It's inferred that it has the ability to do that, not the the car never slows down or helium never heats up. Idk my 2c
What is going to be very interesting about this is how the massive helium reserve discovered in Tanzania a few years ago is going to come into play here.
https://www.earth.ox.ac.uk/2016/06/huge-helium-discovery-a-life-saving-find/
The amount of helium is not the only reason why this will be a huge international to-do:
https://dailynews.co.tz/why-russia-relations-vital-for-tanzania-economic-growth/