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