Author:
Peter Berry
Date Of Creation:
18 February 2021
Update Date:
1 May 2024
Content
Theinert gases They are substances or elements that show little or no reactive chemically under certain conditions of pressure and temperature. They are often employed in industry as insulators or inhibitors, ideal to contain reactions you want to control and prevent its spread or chain reaction.
The best known of the inert gases are called Noble gases, monatomic compounds with low or no reactivity: Helium, Argon, Neon, Krypton, Xenon, Radon and Onganesson. Although the terms are used interchangeably, they are not exactly synonymous, since all noble gas is inert, but not all inert gas is noble: other compounds have a low reactivity that allows them to play more or less the same role.
Examples of inert gases
- Helium (He). The second most abundant element in the universe, manufactured in the nuclear reactions of stars from the fusion of hydrogen. It is well known for its properties of altering the human voice when inhaled, since sound travels much faster through helium than through air. It is much lighter than air, so it always tends to rise, and is often used as a filling for decorative balloons.
- Nitrogen (N). It is a very little reactive gas and very present in the atmosphere, flammable only at very high temperatures and widely used in the industrial manufacture of protective atmospheres or as a cryonic gas (freezing). It is an inexpensive and simple gas that occupies 3% of the constitution of the human body in various compounds.
- Carbon dioxide (CO2). Used as an inert material in welding and in fire extinguishers, this gas so vital to life and abundant on planet Earth, as it is the product of respiration. It is a very little reactive gas, also used as a pressurized gas in compressed air weapons and, in its form solid, like dry ice.
- Hydrogen (H). One of the fundamental building blocks of life and into existence, it is a relatively inert gas under normal conditions and the most common element in the universe. However, a minimal energy load makes it a highly reactive element.
- Argon (Ar). Very used in the industry to handle very reactive substances, operating as an insulator or inhibitor. Like neon and helium, it is used to obtain certain types of lasers and in the industry of semiconductors.
- Neon (Ne). Also very abundant in the known universe, it is the element that gives the reddish tone to the light of fluorescent lamps. It was used in neon tube lighting and that is why it gave it its name (despite the fact that different gases are used for other colors).
- Krypton (Kr). Despite being an inert gas, it is known to react with fluorine and other substances, since it has a certain electronegativity value. It is one of the elements produced during the fission of the atom uranium, so it has six stable and seventeen radioactive isotopes.
- Xenon (Xe). A very heavy gas, used in the manufacture of lamps and light fixtures (such as in movies or car headlights), as well as in certain lasers and as a general anesthetic, just like krypton.
- Radon (Rn). Product of the disintegration of elements such as Radium or Actinium (Actinon), it is an inert but radioactive gas, the most stable version of which has a half-life of 3.8 days before becoming Polonium. It is a dangerous element and its industrial use is limited as it is highly carcinogenic.
- Oganeson (Og). Also known as eka-radon, ununoctium (Uuo) or element 118: temporary names for a tranactinid element recently named Oganeson. This element is highly radioactive, so its recent study has been forced to theoretical speculation, from which it is doubted that it is an inert gas.
- It can serve you: What are the noble gases?
