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It has been used in medicine since the use of oxygen therapy. [1] Most of these gases are drugs, including oxygen. [2] Many other gases, collectively known as factitious airs, were explored for medicinal value in the late eighteenth century. In addition to oxygen, medical gases include nitric oxide (NO), and helium-O2 mixtures (Heliox).
Heliox is a breathing gas mixture of helium (He) and oxygen (O 2).It is used as a medical treatment for patients with difficulty breathing because this mixture generates less resistance than atmospheric air when passing through the airways of the lungs, and thus requires less effort by a patient to breathe in and out of the lungs.
Helium is a commonly used carrier gas for gas chromatography. The age of rocks and minerals that contain uranium and thorium can be estimated by measuring the level of helium with a process known as helium dating. [28] [30] Helium at low temperatures is used in cryogenics and in certain cryogenic applications.
Helium also has a very low boiling point (-268.9°C or -452°F), allowing it to remain a gas even in super-cold environments, an important feature because many rocket fuels are stored in that ...
Hydrogen and helium are the most commonly used lift gases. Although helium is twice as heavy as (diatomic) hydrogen, they are both significantly lighter than air. The lifting power in air of hydrogen and helium can be calculated using the theory of buoyancy as follows: Thus helium is almost twice as dense as hydrogen.
The inertness of noble gases makes them useful whenever chemical reactions are unwanted. For example, argon is used as a shielding gas in welding and as a filler gas in incandescent light bulbs. Helium is used to provide buoyancy in blimps and balloons. Helium and neon are also used as refrigerants due to their low boiling points.
The mixture of helium and oxygen with a 0% nitrogen content is generally known as heliox. This is frequently used as a breathing gas in deep commercial diving operations, where it is often recycled to save the expensive helium component. Analysis of two-component gases is much simpler than three-component gases.
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