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helium
(redirected from Helium atom)

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.06 sec.
helium /he·li·um/ (He) (hel´e-um) chemical element, at. no. 2. It is obtained from natural gas. Used as a diluent for other gases, particularly with oxygen in the treatment of certain cases of respiratory obstruction, and as a vehicle for general anesthetics.
he·li·um (hl-m)
n. Symbol He
An inert gaseous element used in liquid form as a cryogen and as a substitute for nitrogen in artificial breathing mixtures for deep-sea diving and workers in high-pressure conditions. Atomic number 2.

helium (He) (hē´lēum),
n a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas; one of the inert gaseous elements. Atomic number, 2; atomic weight, 4.003. Used in medicine as a diluent for other gases.

helium
a chemical element, atomic number 2, atomic weight 4.003, symbol He. See Table 6.
Helium is a chemically inert element that is odorless, tasteless and noncombustible. Because of its low density it is easily moved through the air passages and therefore requires little effort in breathing on the part of the patient who is in respiratory distress. Although helium itself has no chemical therapeutic value, when combined with oxygen it facilitates the delivery of this gas to the lungs (see helium-oxygen therapy).

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A powerful electric field at the needle's tip shatters helium atoms to create the swarm of electrically charged ions and electrons that constitute the plasma, explains physicist John Goree of the University of Iowa.
Helium balloons don't keep their shape as long as balloons that are filled with air because the tiny helium atoms readily escape through microscopic holes in the rubber.
A positively charged nuclear particle, indistinguishable from a helium atom nucleus and consisting of two protons and two neutrons.
 
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