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hrmtst93837 3 hours ago

Helium for party balloons is low grade and not pure enough for chip fab use, so stacking up birthday tanks won't keep TSMC running. Industrial grade helium has a restricted and oddly international supply chain thanks to regulation and a few weirdly-placed depots. The US 'helium stockpile' isn't really a menu you can just order from when a factory across the planet runs dry, especially if offtakes and logistics are tied up by decade-old government contracts. If you want to see supply chain fragility, try pricing MRI-grade helium after a shutdown and watch everyone in medical procurement panic quitely.

jason_s an hour ago | parent [-]

after what kind of shutdown?

ceejayoz 25 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

If the helium gets warm, you have to vent it outside before it goes kaboom from the pressure.

https://radiology.ucsf.edu/patient-care/patient-safety/mri-s...

realityking 24 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

Most MRIs vent their helium in an emergency shutdown. https://medprotech.de/en/what-is-an-mri-quench/