Helium
![](/Images/godic/202501/17/Helium_discharge_tube0107.jpg")
![Sir William Ramsay, the discoverer of terrestrial helium](/Images/godic/202501/17/William_Ramsay_working0107.jpg")
![The helium atom. Depicted are the nucleus (pink) and the electron cloud distribution (black). The nucleus (upper right) in helium-4 is in reality spherically symmetric and closely resembles the electron cloud, although for more complicated nuclei this is not always the case.](/Images/godic/202501/17/Helium_atom_QM.svg0108.png")
![Binding energy per nucleon of common isotopes. The binding energy per particle of helium-4 is significantly larger than all nearby nuclides.](/Images/godic/202501/17/Binding_energy_curve_-_common_isotopes.svg0108.png")
Helium is a chemical element with symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas, the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. The He boiling and melting points are the lowest among all the elements.