This article contains comparison of key thermal and atomic properties of hydrogen and helium, two comparable chemical elements from the periodic table. It also contains basic descriptions and applications of both elements. Hydrogen vs Helium.
Hydrogen and Helium – About Elements
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Hydrogen and Helium – Applications
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is versatile and can be utilized in various ways. These multiple uses can be grouped into two large categories. Hydrogen as a feedstock. A role whose importance is being recognized for decades and will continue to grow and evolve. The largest single use of hydrogen in the world is in ammonia manufacture, which consumes about two-thirds of the world’s hydrogen production. Hydrogen is versatile and can be utilized in various ways. These multiple uses can be grouped into two large categories. Hydrogen as a feedstock for further chemical processes. A role whose importance is being recognized for decades and will continue to grow and evolve. And hydrogen as an energy carrier. Hydrogen is also commonly used in power stations as a coolant in generators due to a number of favorable properties that are a direct result of its light diatomic molecules.
Helium
Helium is used for many purposes that require some of its unique properties, such as its low boiling point, low density, low solubility, high thermal conductivity, or inertness. Of the 2014 world helium total production of about 32 million kg (180 million standard cubic meters) helium per year, the largest use (about 32% of the total in 2014) is in cryogenic applications, most of which involves cooling the superconducting magnets in medical MRI scanners and NMR spectrometers. Most clinical magnets are superconducting magnets, which require liquid helium to keep them very cold.
Hydrogen and Helium – Comparison in Table
| Element | Hydrogen | Helium |
| Density | 0.00009 g/cm3 | 0.00018 g/cm3 |
| Ultimate Tensile Strength | N/A | N/A |
| Yield Strength | N/A | N/A |
| Young’s Modulus of Elasticity | N/A | N/A |
| Mohs Scale | N/A | N/A |
| Brinell Hardness | N/A | N/A |
| Vickers Hardness | N/A | N/A |
| Melting Point | -259.1 °C | -272.2 °C |
| Boiling Point | -252.9 °C | -268.9 °C |
| Thermal Conductivity | 0.1805 W/mK | 0.1513 W/mK |
| Thermal Expansion Coefficient | — µm/mK | — µm/mK |
| Specific Heat | 14.304 J/g K | 5.193 J/g K |
| Heat of Fusion | 0.05868 kJ/mol | 0.0138 kJ/mol |
| Heat of Vaporization | 0.44936 kJ/mol | 0.0845 kJ/mol |