Editing 2766: Helium Reserve
Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
The edit can be undone.
Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
Latest revision | Your text | ||
Line 13: | Line 13: | ||
The {{w|National Helium Reserve|Strategic National Helium Reserve}} is a reserve of helium in the United States, which holds more than 1 billion cubic meters of helium. This reserve was established by the US Government because helium has a number of critical scientific and industrial applications, and it was considered important to ensure that those needs could always be supplied. | The {{w|National Helium Reserve|Strategic National Helium Reserve}} is a reserve of helium in the United States, which holds more than 1 billion cubic meters of helium. This reserve was established by the US Government because helium has a number of critical scientific and industrial applications, and it was considered important to ensure that those needs could always be supplied. | ||
β | In addition to the scientific uses, helium is also used and sold for more frivolous applications. One of the most well-known is to fill party balloons. Since helium is much lighter than air, balloons filled with it will float. Additionally, because sound propagates differently through helium than through air, inhaling some of the gas will cause a person's voice to sound much higher. The novelty of this phenomenon has long resulted in people inhaling helium from balloons in order to hear their voices change. | + | In addition to the scientific uses, helium is also used and sold for more frivolous applications. One of the most well-known is to to fill party balloons. Since helium is much lighter than air, balloons filled with it will float. Additionally, because sound propagates differently through helium than through air, inhaling some of the gas will cause a person's voice to sound much higher. The novelty of this phenomenon has long resulted in people inhaling helium from balloons in order to hear their voices change. |
Apparently, in this comic, [[Cueball]] was hired to manage the Reserve, and apparently lost or used all of the helium. The fact that he can't answer the question "out loud" implies that he inhaled all of the helium to make his voice change, meaning that even answering the question would reveal what he'd been doing. | Apparently, in this comic, [[Cueball]] was hired to manage the Reserve, and apparently lost or used all of the helium. The fact that he can't answer the question "out loud" implies that he inhaled all of the helium to make his voice change, meaning that even answering the question would reveal what he'd been doing. |