Scientists from Japan and Taiwan have said that the latest research suggests that huge amounts of primordial helium may be stuck inside Earth's solid core. Primordial helium refers to the helium that was formed during the first few minutes after the Big Bang, which is a period known as Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). 

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The research can now challenge long-standing ideas about the planet's internal structure, history, and origin. The presence of primordial helium may even reveal details on how our solar system was formed. 

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The majority of the material emerging from a volcanic eruption would be rocks and minerals, hence, it is shocking to learn that remnants of what is referred to as primordial helium (helium-3) are frequently found. 

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Helium comes in two stable isotopes on Earth, and the most common is helium-4, with a nucleus containing two protons and two neutrons. It accounts for around 99.99986 per cent of all of Earth's helium. 

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Meanwhile, the other stable isotope is helium-3, with two protons and one neutron. It accounts for about 0.000137 per cent. Primordial helium is not formed on Earth and contains two protons and one neutron. 

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He-4 is different from regular helium because it is constantly created by radioactive decay and has two protons and two neutrons.

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Helium—a colorless, odourless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert and monatomic gas—is present in the environment and heads the noble gas group in the periodic table. It is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. 

In the latest research, scientists have made a surprise discovery that one of the lightest elements in the universe can bind to iron under high pressure to form iron halide. It means we may have misunderstood the chemistry making up the depths of our planet. 

"I have spent many years studying the geological and chemical processes that take place deep inside the Earth. Given the intense temperatures and pressures at play, experiments to explore some aspects of this environment must replicate those extreme conditions. So, we often turn to a laser-heated diamond anvil cell to impart such pressures on samples to see the result," says physicist Kei Hirose, as quoted by Science Alert. 

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"In this case, we crushed iron and helium together under about 5-55 gigapascals of pressure and at temperatures of 1,000 kelvins to nearly 3,000 kelvins. Those pressures correspond to roughly 50,000-550,000 times atmospheric pressure, and the higher temperatures used could melt iridium, the material often used in car engine spark plugs due to its high thermal resistance," Hirose of the University of Tokyo, in whose lab the experiments were conducted, said as quoted. 

According to a team led by physicist Haruki Takezawa of the University of Tokyo and his colleagues, the ratio of helium to iron was as high as 3.3 per cent, which was nearly 5,000 times higher than previously reported. 

"Helium tends to escape at ambient conditions very easily; everyone has seen an inflatable balloon wither and sink. So, we needed a way to avoid this when taking our measurements," Hirose explains.

"Though we carried out the material syntheses under high temperatures, the chemical-sensing measurements were done at extremely cold, or cryogenic, temperatures. This way prevented helium from escaping and allowed us to detect helium in iron," he added. 

(With inputs from agencies)