Re:iPhones are allergic to helium
by outworlder on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @06:24PM
(#18341782)
Eventually. But I would expect that by the time the effect is noticeable, the concentrations will be too high to support consciousness and will have been for some time.
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I'm not sure that's true.
If you displace 30% of the atmosphere with helium, the O2 concentration drops from 21% to 15%. That's low enough that you'll probably start to see mild cognitive impairment, but it's still plenty capable of supporting life. However, a 30/70 mixture of helium and air is about 67% as dense as normal air, which means voices would be pitched more than half an octave higher.