| ▲ | sixhobbits 5 hours ago | |
It's also formed similarly to oil over millions of years underground if I understand correctly so can be a byproduct of natural gas mining. | ||
| ▲ | daemonologist 5 hours ago | parent | next [-] | |
It's often found alongside natural gas because the rock structures that can trap methane can also trap other gasses, but the original source is different - thermal decomposition of organic matter for natural gas and radioactive decay, mostly of uranium and thorium, for helium. I agree that the "accumulation over millions of years" is similar (and similarly a potential problem if we burn through all that accumulation). | ||
| ▲ | Sharlin 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | |
Which is exactly 100% of Earth's helium. Every single helium atom we use is a result of alpha decay, as a very good approximation there isn't any primordial or stellar helium on or in Earth. | ||