No More Balloons

Can't someone in the chemistry department come up with a cheap and economical method of manufacturing the damned helium?

 
Goal-line said:
Can't someone in the chemistry department come up with a cheap and economical method of manufacturing the damned helium?
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You can't really manufacture an element... and like the article said it tends to escape the atmosphere so it can't be harvested in the air. We could always start working out a plan for harvesting stars, they're a pretty good source of helium...

 
Landlord of Memorial Stadium said:
California Husker said:
Landlord of Memorial Stadium said:
accountability said:
Can someone in the know clarify something for me without actually reading the article? Is the actual issue here the fact what we dont want to pay extra for helium or is it simply we can't get it at all. Because they always say oil shortage this, gas shortage that, jack the prices, but yet you never see dry pumps. If it is that we dont want to spend the extra, wouldnt you think we could use the extra money saved if we didnt do alternate unis and from Barney's salary?
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My understanding of it is probably both. The price of helium through retail channels has more than doubled, and seeing how helium is used for much more important tasks than filling up balloons (to cool MRI machines and used in the engines of spaceships as two examples) I believe the government is or will very soon be cracking down on unnecessary or excessive usage of it.
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Okay, so since we are running out anyway...they need to find another way to cool MRI machines. As far as space ships go; the geniuses in charge of our government are pretty much scraping the space program...so the only space ships of any importance are the little round red ones that are launched at Memorial Stadium. Government...smh.
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NASA != The space program.
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With all the defunding, does NASA even exist anymore? (now don't make me go for the "sarcasm" emoticon)

 
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California Husker said:
Landlord of Memorial Stadium said:
California Husker said:
Landlord of Memorial Stadium said:
accountability said:
Can someone in the know clarify something for me without actually reading the article? Is the actual issue here the fact what we dont want to pay extra for helium or is it simply we can't get it at all. Because they always say oil shortage this, gas shortage that, jack the prices, but yet you never see dry pumps. If it is that we dont want to spend the extra, wouldnt you think we could use the extra money saved if we didnt do alternate unis and from Barney's salary?
Click to expand...

My understanding of it is probably both. The price of helium through retail channels has more than doubled, and seeing how helium is used for much more important tasks than filling up balloons (to cool MRI machines and used in the engines of spaceships as two examples) I believe the government is or will very soon be cracking down on unnecessary or excessive usage of it.
Click to expand...
Okay, so since we are running out anyway...they need to find another way to cool MRI machines. As far as space ships go; the geniuses in charge of our government are pretty much scraping the space program...so the only space ships of any importance are the little round red ones that are launched at Memorial Stadium. Government...smh.
Click to expand...

NASA != The space program.
Click to expand...
With all the defunding, does NASA even exist anymore? (now don't make me go for the "sarcasm" emoticon)
Click to expand...

You realize there is a private sector of space-related business right?

 
We also just put a rover on the moon...but yeah, NASA has had some very serious, shamefully large budget cuts. They've really been scaled back and it is a damn shame. We are going to have to rebuild our space program one day.

ZRod said:
Goal-line said:
Can't someone in the chemistry department come up with a cheap and economical method of manufacturing the damned helium?
Click to expand...
You can't really manufacture an element... and like the article said it tends to escape the atmosphere so it can't be harvested in the air. We could always start working out a plan for harvesting stars, they're a pretty good source of helium...
Click to expand...
No problem Goal-line, just fuse two hydrogen atoms together :-D

 
Two birds with one stone right there, solve our energy problem and helium shortage with nuclear fussion.

 
What a load of crap. The amount of helium used in our traditional first score release is insignificant. We aren't saving MRI machines and the like. IMO this is an over reaction by somebody wanting to make an environmental statement. I do fault the government for keeping the price artificially low but 35,000 balloons per year isn't squat. What about the needless energy expended on the Huskervision screens or the night game lights?

 
JJHusker1 said:
What a load of crap. The amount of helium used in our traditional first score release is insignificant. We aren't saving MRI machines and the like. IMO this is an over reaction by somebody wanting to make an environmental statement. I do fault the government for keeping the price artificially low but 35,000 balloons per year isn't squat. What about the needless energy expended on the Huskervision screens or the night game lights?
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Wow. Whoever had Post #69 in the pool, please collect your winnings.

 
JJHusker1 said:
What a load of crap. The amount of helium used in our traditional first score release is insignificant. We aren't saving MRI machines and the like. IMO this is an over reaction by somebody wanting to make an environmental statement. I do fault the government for keeping the price artificially low but 35,000 balloons per year isn't squat. What about the needless energy expended on the Huskervision screens or the night game lights?
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Huskervision is powered by helium...? :dunno

 
Honestly, they should power the sound system using helium. Now that would be an investment.

Just imagine it, "Let's hear it for your Huskers in the NFL."

 
JJHusker1 said:
What a load of crap. The amount of helium used in our traditional first score release is insignificant. We aren't saving MRI machines and the like. IMO this is an over reaction by somebody wanting to make an environmental statement. I do fault the government for keeping the price artificially low but 35,000 balloons per year isn't squat. What about the needless energy expended on the Huskervision screens or the night game lights?
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I'm pretty sure that's a straw man argument, but whatever. I have a feeling this will get moved to another sub forum...

First of all read the article again, it said the supplier currently doesn't have any helium and won't until late September or October. And it's not just to conserve helium. With privatization the price is on the rise so that's a pretty legitimate concern. And finally yes there is actually a lot that will be conserved, do the math. From a google search each balloon holds 14 liters or .5 cubic feet, that's about 3.7 gallons. Assuming they release 4,500 balloons on game day (averaging what they say they usually release), that's 16,650 gallons per game. In a normal 7 home game season that's 116,550 gallons of helium. Sounds fairly substantial to me...

 
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Helium

But according to Nobel Prize winner Robert Richardson, the problem is that the U.S. government is giving away helium like a discount VCR warehouse: as much as it can, as cheap as it can. In 1996, Congress passed a law requiring the U.S. government to sell off our helium stockpile by 2015. This has forced the price of the gas way, way lower than it should be, considering how little of the stuff is actually left in the world (Richardson says a balloon's worth would cost $100 if the market were allowed to set the price).The U.S. controls more than 80 percent of the world's helium supply, so Richardson says all this sell-off and waste means there's a very real chance we will run out of the gas in fewer than 25 years. If you're one of those people who buys into this whole "technology" fad, that's something to be concerned about.
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Read more: 6 Important Things You Didn't Know We're Running Out Of | Cracked.comhttp://www.cracked.c...l#ixzz23XI3qZxk

 
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Somehow I knew a thread about not getting to release balloons would devolve into a psuedo-political-oppressive government thread. That damn federal govt tasking away your right to.....release........balloons........?

Pretend like the facepalm icon is a helium balloon kind :facepalm:

 
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