helium


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he·li·um

 (hē′lē-əm)
n. Symbol He
A colorless, odorless inert gaseous element occurring in natural gas and with radioactive ores. It is used as a component of artificial atmospheres and laser media, as a refrigerant, as a lifting gas for balloons, and as a superfluid in cryogenic research. Atomic number 2; atomic weight 4.0026; boiling point -268.9°C; density at 0°C 0.1785 gram per liter. See Periodic Table.

[From Greek hēlios, sun (so called because its existence was deduced from the solar spectrum); see sāwel- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

helium

(ˈhiːlɪəm)
n
(Elements & Compounds) a very light nonflammable colourless odourless element that is an inert gas, occurring in certain natural gases: used in balloons and in cryogenic research. Symbol: He; atomic no: 2; atomic wt: 4.002602; density: 0.1785 kg/m3; at normal pressures it is liquid down to absolute zero; melting pt: below –272.2°C; boiling pt: –268.90°C. See also alpha particle
[C19: New Latin, from helio- + -ium; named from its having first been detected in the solar spectrum]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

he•li•um

(ˈhi li əm)

n.
an inert, gaseous element present in the sun's atmosphere and in natural gas, used as a substitute for flammable gases in dirigibles. Symbol: He; at. wt.: 4.0026; at. no.: 2; density: 0.1785 g/l at 0°C and 760 mm pressure.
[1872; < Greek hḗli(os) the sun + -ium2]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

he·li·um

(hē′lē-əm)
Symbol He A very lightweight, colorless, odorless element that is a noble gas and occurs in natural gas, in radioactive ores, and in small amounts in the atmosphere. It has the lowest boiling point of any substance and is the second most abundant element in the universe. Helium is used to provide lift for balloons and blimps and to create artificial air that will not chemically react. Atomic number 2. See Periodic Table.
Word History A lot of elements are named after the place they were first discovered—even if that place is 93 million miles away, as is the case with the element helium. In 1868 astronomers were studying a solar eclipse with a spectroscope, an instrument that breaks up light into a spectrum. When an element is heated hot enough to glow, the light emitted will produce a unique spectrum (pattern of lines) when refracted through a prism. The astronomers noticed that the spectrum of the sun's corona, which is only visible during an eclipse, contained some lines produced by an unknown element. The element was then named helium, from helios, the Greek word for "sun." We now know that helium is produced abundantly by the nuclear fusion in all stars, and is also found in smaller amounts on Earth. The Greek word helios gives us many other words pertaining to the sun, such as heliocentric and perihelion.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.helium - a very light colorless element that is one of the six inert gasseshelium - a very light colorless element that is one of the six inert gasses; the most difficult gas to liquefy; occurs in economically extractable amounts in certain natural gases (as those found in Texas and Kansas)
chemical element, element - any of the more than 100 known substances (of which 92 occur naturally) that cannot be separated into simpler substances and that singly or in combination constitute all matter
argonon, inert gas, noble gas - any of the chemically inert gaseous elements of the helium group in the periodic table
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
helium
هيليوم
хелий
heli
heliumhélium
helium
heliohelioaheliumo
heelium
هلیم
helium
הליום
हीलियम
helij
hélium
helium
helíumhelín
ヘリウム
헬륨
helium
helis
hēlijs
ഹീലിയം
hélio
heliu
hélium
helij
helijumхелијум
helium
heli
ฮีเลียม
helyum
гелій
helihêli

helium

[ˈhiːlɪəm] Nhelio m
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

helium

[ˈhiːliəm] nhélium m helium balloonhelium balloon nballon m gonflé à l'hélium
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

helium

nHelium nt
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

helium

[ˈhiːlɪəm] nelio
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

helium

(ˈhiːliəm) noun
an element, a very light gas which does not burn and which is used eg in balloons.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

he·li·um

n. helio, elemento gaseoso inerte empleado en tratamientos respiratorios y en cámaras de descompresión para facilitar el aumento o disminución de la presión del aire.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

helium

n helio
English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
References in classic literature ?
TARA of Helium rose from the pile of silks and soft furs upon which she had been reclining, stretched her lithe body languidly, and crossed toward the center of the room, where, above a large table, a bronze disc depended from the low ceiling.
"Yes, Tara of Helium, they come," replied the slave.
"It is not plain to me," said Tara of Helium. "He is the friend of my brother, Carthoris, and so he is here much; but not to see me.
Hor Vastus greets the son of Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, and of her husband, John Carter.
"Grieve not, my good Hor Vastus," cried Carthoris, "since I bring not back myself alone to cheer my mother's heart and the hearts of my beloved people, but also one whom all Barsoom loved best--her greatest warrior and her saviour--John Carter, Prince of Helium!"
My old friend had won to the highest place in the navy of Helium, but he was still to me the same brave comrade who had shared with me the privations of a Warhoon dungeon, the terrible atrocities of the Great Games, and later the dangers of our search for Dejah Thoris within the hostile city of Zodanga.
Half of them had passed, or would on the morrow, yet vivid in my memory, obliterating every event that had come before or after, there remained the last scene before the gust of smoke blinded my eyes and the narrow slit that had given me sight of the interior of her cell closed between me and the Princess of Helium for a long Martian year.
Much there had been to occupy my attention since that terrible moment; but never for an instant had the memory of the thing faded, and all the time that I could spare from the numerous duties that had devolved upon me in the reconstruction of the government of the First Born since our victorious fleet and land forces had overwhelmed them, had been spent close to the grim shaft that held the mother of my boy, Carthoris of Helium.
"I am of Helium," he said, "but I do not recall your name."
He was much excited by the news of Helium's princess and seemed quite positive that she and Sola could easily have reached a point of safety from where they left me.
"Kaor, Carthoris of Helium!" the princess returned the young man's greeting, "and what less could one expect of the son of such a sire?"
Astok would have leaped to mortal combat with the son of Dejah Thoris, but the guardsmen pressed about him, preventing, though it was clearly evident that naught would have better pleased Carthoris of Helium.