Helium

Helium
Properties
Atomic symbol	He
Atomic number	2
Classification	Noble Gas
Atomic mass	4.0026 amu
Other Information
Date of discovery	August 18, 1868
Name of discoverer	Pierre Janssen
Name origin	from Helios the Greek Sun god
Uses	Unknown
Obtained from	.

Helium is the second element on the periodic table of elements. It is also the second most abundant element in the universe, after hydrogen. Helium is created by nuclear fusion in the center of stars.

Helium has an interesting history; during the nineteenth century, one of the things some scientists declared to be "impossible" was the determination of the chemical makeup of the stars. Then spectroscopy was developed, and the composition of the stars became known in great detail. Helium, in particular, was discovered in the Sun (as an unknown element) before it was discovered on the Earth. It was, accordingly, named after helios, the Greek for the Sun.