You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.

Hey, shortwavers, Regina Barber here with an episode on helium. The U.S. is the largest supplier of the world's helium, which is used in, yes, party balloons, but it's also used in semiconductor manufacturing and in MRI machines.

But helium is in the news this week for another reason.

There's a shortage of it, again.

The second largest supplier of helium is Qatar, which has recently been hit by missiles from Iran.

And so, the country isn't producing or selling helium at the moment.

On top of that, there are the helium tanks sitting in the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway in

the Middle East where a huge amount of the world's global shipping takes place.

With the current conflict, much of that shipping traffic is closed, and goods are staying put,

including helium, which will eventually leak out of the tanks they're in

if they're not shipped in time.

So we decided let's revisit an episode with former host, Maddie Sophia,

and science correspondent Jeff Brumfield.

They get into the history of helium, including its discovery,

and what it would mean if we ever truly run out of it.

You're listening to Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR.

All right, Jeff, here's what I know about helium.

It's like the second most abundant element in the universe.

Yep, good. It's not very dense, so sound travels faster through helium. It's like the second most abundant element in the universe. Yep. Good. It's not very dense. So sound travels faster through helium than normal air, which is why your voice sounds so high

after you inhale it. You're starting to impress me. Yes. Keep going. It's a noble gas,

which probably means it thinks it's better than the other gases.

It certainly does.

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