Impact of Helium 3 from Extraterrestrial Sources

AI Thread Summary
Bringing a surplus of Helium 3 from extraterrestrial sources is unlikely to impact Earth's ecological balance, as Helium is an inert gas not utilized in biological processes. Historical proposals have suggested harvesting Helium 3 from lunar soil for use in fusion reactors to generate electricity. Concerns about potential ecological changes arise primarily from the scale of the surplus, with hypothetical scenarios suggesting significant atmospheric alterations if enough were introduced. However, no substantial studies currently support the idea that Helium 3 could cause ecological harm. Overall, the consensus is that Helium 3 poses minimal risk to Earth's environment.
lightning
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Can bringing a surplus of Helium 3 from a Extraterrestrial source effect our Earth's ecological balance?
Has there been any studies on this?
 
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I don't see how. Helium is an inert gas that isn't used in biology as far as I know.
 
lightning said:
Can bringing a surplus of Helium 3 from a Extraterrestrial source effect our Earth's ecological balance?
Has there been any studies on this?

Hi lightning! Welcome to Physics Forums!

I also cannot imagine any ecological change possible if we brought Helium 3 to earth.

Many years ago, when Helium 3 was found in Lunar soil samples, there were proposals to go to the moon, harvest it, and bring it here to Earth for fusion reactors to generate electric power.

Read about this here: http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/moon-mars/1283056

Bobbywhy
 
Well, it depends on how big a surplus you are talking about! If you bring enough to change or replace the atmosphere...
 
Everybody would be talking funny then.
 

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