helio3

Helio3 is a term most commonly associated with the isotope helium-3 (He-3), though it may also appear as a brand name or project title in science and technology contexts. Helium-3 is a light, stable isotope of helium consisting of two protons and one neutron. It is extremely rare in Earth's atmosphere and is typically encountered only in trace quantities in natural gas or produced as a byproduct of other nuclear processes.

Because He-3 produces no significant radioactive waste in many proposed fusion reactions, it has attracted interest as a potential fuel for aneutronic fusion concepts, notably the deuterium–helium-3 reaction. In fusion research, however, achieving the necessary temperatures and confinement remains a major technical challenge, and practical, scalable reactors have not yet been realized.

In practical applications, helium-3 is widely used in neutron detection and cryogenics. He-3 gas is highly effective in neutron spectroscopy and is used in proportional counters for security and scientific instrumentation. In low-temperature physics, helium-3 supports dilution refrigeration, enabling experiments at ultra-low temperatures.

Earthly supplies of He-3 are limited. It is obtained as a byproduct of natural gas processing and, in some contexts, from the decay of tritium. Because of its scarcity and the interest in lunar or space-based sources, there have been proposals to harvest He-3 from the lunar regolith, where solar wind-implanted helium-3 is thought to be more abundant.

Beyond its scientific context, helio3 can also appear as a product name or project title in energy, space technology, or consumer electronics branding, independent of the isotope.