Concept in Definition ABC

East chemical element it is a noble, inert and colorless gas. It constitutes 1% of air in the atmosphere. Its symbol in the periodic table is Ar, its atomic number is 18, and its molecular weight is 39.95 g / mol.

To obtain argon, it is necessary to carry out a fractional distillation process of the liquefied air and subsequently the residual oxygen is eliminated. As for its name, it comes from the Greek word argon, which means inactive, since it is a gas that does not react to the presence of other substances.

Argon was first isolated in the late 19th century

At the end of the 18th century, the English chemist Henry Cavendish discovered that air was made up of a tiny portion of a substance that was less reactive than nitrogen. It was a gas that could not be dissolved and this advance was the first step towards the definitive discovery of argon.

Scottish chemist Sir Williams Ramsay (1852-1916) first isolated this gas in 1894 and also isolated the krypton, neon and xenon (he received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1904 for the discovery of these four

gases nobles). In the periodic table of the elements the noble or inert gases are located in group 18. They are single-atom gases, are colorless and have low chemical reactivity.

Storage and security

It is stored in cylindrical steel utensils, which have an opening at the end to provide a place for the gas to exit. The amount of argon in a cylinder is variable, as it depends on the temperature, the volume of water and the pressure.

While it is not a gas toxic, if it is subjected to high pressure, it can cause suffocation (for this reason it is necessary to Store in adequately ventilated areas and that the professionals who use it use a correct equipment). To prevent any accident, argon cylinders must be identified following strict regulations of safety.

Main uses

This gas is used in incandescent lamps or as a substitute for neon in fluorescent lamps (some fluorescent tubes contain a mixture of mercury and argon vapor). It is used in various types of welds to avoid the oxidation process, in the manufacturing of single crystals, in the production titanium and other reactive elements or in the manufacture of semiconductor circuits in the electronics sector. At the same time, it serves for the detection of explosives and as a thermal insulator.

Finally, in chemical laboratories this gas is used to handle reagents.

Fotolia photos: Branchecarica / Peterzayda

Themes in Argon