[time-nuts] gravimeters

[Yuri Ostry]

Hello,

Saturday, December 13, 2008, 1:40:47, Neville Michie wrote:

N> The problem with helium is that it comes out of oil wells.
N> It does not cost much because they were digging up the oil anyway.
N> If what they say about peak oil is true, in 30 years or so there will
N> be no
N> more helium and nowhere to get it, save tiny quantities from nuclear
N> plants.
N> It seems to escape from earth's atmosphere to be lost for all time.
N> We should be doing all the research that needs helium now, because
N> we will not be able to do it in the future.
N> Every time my grand kids play with a helium balloon I feel guilty.
N> Neville mIchie

I don't think that everything is so bad with helium supply. There is a
lots of He in a natural gas fields. There is some new gas fields in
Eastern Siberia where helium concentration exceeds 0.6% by volume. Few
large helium extraction plants located on large pipelines in Siberia
may double or triple world's helium supply easily. Winter temperatures
that sometimes goes well below -40 deg. centigrade there may make
process even more economical during cold season. The only real problem
is funding, as I understand this.

-- 
Best regards,
 Yuri                          mailto:yuri at ostry.ru