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There’s a Helium Shortage On — and It’s Affecting More than Just Balloons

Stop talking in that squeaky voice and get serious. From MRI machines to semiconductor manufacturing, here are a few of the things we'll have to do with less of thanks to a global helium shortage.

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Ship/Aerospace Building

By Aug. 21, 2012
Michaela Rehle / Reuters

An employee of the KBA-MetalPrint company welds in Stuttgart.

Helium is one of the common inert gases used to dissipate heat and blow away atmospheric contaminants during tungsten arc welding, a process used in both shipbuilding and aerospace manufacturing.

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