{"id":15351,"date":"2026-06-25T19:56:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T19:56:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=15351"},"modified":"2026-06-25T19:56:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T19:56:26","slug":"what-is-helium-3-and-could-we-get-it-from-the-moon-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=15351","title":{"rendered":"What is Helium-3 and could we get it from the moon?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 300px 160px; gap: 2px; width: 460px; background: #eee; padding: 2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u6574\u884c\u5bbd\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876674\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 90px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876676\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u5de6\u4fa7\u7ad6\u6392 -->\r\n  <div style=\"height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876672\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"height: 500px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876680\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u6469\u5929\u697c\uff08\u548c\u5de6\u4fa7\u5b8c\u5168\u5bf9\u9f50\uff09 -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row: 3\/5; height: 750px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876678\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  \r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e6\" data-zoneid=\"5876682\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b class=\"ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">One of the most valuable assets owned by Lancaster University is stored in beer kegs.<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">But it&#8217;s not in one of the student bars.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">In a carefully locked laboratory rows of metal kegs are arranged on shelves and linked together with spindly copper pipework.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The containers aren&#8217;t loaded with prize beer but rather a gas called helium-3, one of the most expensive materials in the world. A single litre costs roughly $2,000 (\u00a31,500), though the price can fluctuate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;The lab has been going for 50 years or so. Back then, the helium was quite cheap,&#8221; says Dima Zmeev, senior lecturer. &#8220;Our very wise predecessors stocked up.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">In the near future, more people could be looking to build up such a stockpile. Helium-3 has applications in quantum computing and nuclear fusion. However, the main source of it today is tightly controlled \u2013 it comes from nuclear weapons. Specifically, from the decay of tritium, a form of hydrogen, inside those weapons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Around the world, tens of thousands of litres of helium-3 are likely to be produced this way every year, estimates David McCollum, distinguished scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. But future demand could far exceed that supply.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Some entrepreneurs and researchers say we need new sources of helium-3. It exists in the ground, though generally at very low concentrations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">However, samples of moon dust, or regolith, from the Apollo missions suggest it may be present there at relatively high concentrations. As such, plans are now afoot to recover helium-3 from the moon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Helium-3 is an isotope of helium, defined by the number of neutrons in the atom&#8217;s nucleus. Helium-4, with one additional neutron, is the comparatively cheap version \u2013 a gas that fills children&#8217;s party balloons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Zmeev uses helium-3 in physics experiments. For example, he fills tiny chambers with the stuff, in a project to detect a type of mysterious dark matter particle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Should such a particle knock into one of the helium-3 atoms, it would make them all jiggle. This generates heat and that slight temperature rise can be measured.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The helium-3 can be re-used again and again.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Scientists mix helium-3 and helium-4 together at very low temperatures to create the lowest temperatures in the known universe, down to the millikelvin range (-273C).<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">When helium-3 atoms gradually separate from a dilute mixture containing the two isotopes, they form a pure helium-3 layer on top. This separation is a phase change that consumes energy, inducing a cooling effect, like when steam evaporates off a cup of hot water.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Helium-3-based cooling, or dilution refrigeration, is crucial for quantum computers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">And helium-3 could also be used in some nuclear fusion reactors<span class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-i2z2ig-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">, <!-- -->external<\/span> to one day create vast amounts of clean energy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \u603b\u5bb9\u5668\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u5bbd908px Grid\u7d27\u51d1\u5e03\u5c40 -->\r\n<div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 728px 160px; gap:2px; width:908px; background:#eee; padding:2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u901a\u680f\u9876\u90e8\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u6a2a\u5e45 908x258 \u8de8\u6574\u884c -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; height:258px; background:#ff6b6b; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114307\" data-width=\"908\" data-height=\"258\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114307});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u7b2c\u4e8c\u901a\u680f\uff1a728\u00d790 \u901a\u680f -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; 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