Everything about Helium-4 totally explained
Helium-4 (or ) is a non-
radioactive and light
isotope of
helium. It is by far the most abundant of the two naturally occurring isotopes of helium, making up about 99.99986% of the helium on earth. Its nucleus is a
boson and an
alpha particle, having two
protons and two
neutrons.
Alpha decay is a common decay mode for many
radioactive isotopes. In fact, alpha decay of heavy elements is the source of most naturally occurring helium-4 on earth. Helium-4 is also a byproduct of
nuclear fusion in
stars.
When helium-4 is cooled to below 2.17
kelvins (–271
°C), it becomes a
superfluid, with properties that are very unlike those of an ordinary liquid. For example, if helium-4 is kept in an open vessel, a thin film will climb up the sides of the vessel and overflow. Another name for this property of Helium is
Rollin film. This strange behaviour is a result of the
Clausius-Clapeyron relation and can't be explained by the current
model of
classical mechanics nor by
nuclear or
electrical models; it's only understood as a
quantum mechanical phenomenon.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Helium-4'.
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