a peek into the lives of our less reactive friends noble gases by josh allred
TRANSCRIPT
A peek into the lives of our less reactive friends
NOBLE GASES
By Josh Allred
WHAT ARE NOBLE GASES?
ALL NOBLE GASES
• Belong to group 8 on the periodic table
• Are naturally occurring
• Have very low chemical Reactivity
• At room temp are
• Gases
• Colorless
• Odorless
• Tasteless
WHERE DO WE GET THEM?
FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION
• Regular air is compressed and cooled to liquid state
• Subsequent mixture is slowly decompressed, which increases the temperature
• Different elements boil at different temperatures
He Ne Ar Kr Xe Rd
-300-250-200-150-100
-500
Boiling point
Boiling point
HELIUM
• Atomic Number - 2
• Atomic Mass – 4.002602
• Boiling point - 4.4 ° K, -268.75 °C, -451.75 °F
• Discovered - 1895 by Per Teodor Cleve and Nils Abraham Langlet
• Primarily obtained through separation of natural gas
• To cool superconducting magnets in things like
• MRI’s
• Particle accelerators (CERN)
• Helium-air mixture for deep sea diving
• Changing your voice
• As a shield gas for arc welding
• Flight
• Balloons
USES FOR HELIUM
Regular Awesome
NEON
• Atomic Number – 10
• Atomic Mass – 20.1797
• Boiling Point – 24.56 °K, -248.59 °C, -410.94 °F
• Discovered – 1898 by Sir William Ramsay and Morris W. Travers
• Primarily obtained through fractional distillation of air
• Old school signs
• Neon Helium lasers
• Cryogenic refrigerant
• Old school signs
• Vacuum tubes
• High voltage indicators
USES FOR NEON
Regular Awesome
ARGON
• Atomic Number – 18
• Atomic Mass – 39.948
• Boiling Point – 87.30 °K, -185.85°C, -308.83 °F
• Discovered –1894 by Lord Rayleigh and Sir William Ramsay
• Primarily obtained through fractional distillation of air
• Used in surgery to
• Destroy cancer cells
• Blue Argon lasers can
• Weld arteries
• Destroy tumors
• Correct eye defects
• Preserve the Declaration of Independence
• Gas filling for incandescent lights
• Thermal insulation
• Shielding gas for welding
• Food preservative
• Poultry asphyxiant (which is still pretty awesome)
USES FOR ARGON
Regular Awesome
KRYPTON
• Atomic Number – 36
• Atomic Mass – 83.798
• Boiling Point – 119.93 °K, -157.36 °C, -251.25 °F
• Discovered – 1898 by Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers
• Primarily obtained through fractional distillation of air
• Particle physics (CERN used 27 tons of liquid Kr)
• MRI, CT scans
• High powered lasers
• Lighting
• Mixed with Argon for energy efficient bulbs
• Used in “neon” signs which are painted for different colors
• High speed photography flashbulbs
USES FOR KRYPTON
Regular Awesome
XENON
• Atomic Number – 54
• Atomic Mass – 131.293
• Boiling Point – 165.03 °K, -108.12 °C, -162.62 °F
• Discovered – 1898 by Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers
• Primarily obtained through fractional distillation of air
• Anesthesia ( 4x more effective than NO2)
• Treating brain injuries
• Ion propulsion for jets and spacecraft
• Lighting
• Expensive flash photography
• IMAX film projection
• Expensive Auto Headlights
• Plasma Televisions
• Lasers
USES FOR XENON
Regular Awesome
RADON
Atomic Number – 86
Atomic Mass – 222
Boiling Point – 211.3 °K, -61.85 °C, -79.1 °F
Discovered – 1900 by Friedrich Ernst Dorn
Primarily obtained through decay of Radium
• Still figuring that out! (It is radioactive after all)
• Radiation therapy
• Radon Spas
• Guests enjoy
• Irradiated baths
• Radon spa treatment
• Inhalation therapy
• Book your appointment today!
USES FOR RADON
Regular Awesome
Helium Neon Argon Krypton Xenon Radon
Atomic # 2 10 18 36 54 86
Weight 4.003 20.18 39.95 83.80 131.3 222
Boiling point °C -269 -246 -186 -153 -108 -62