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Argon
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Argon is a chemical element designated by the symbol Ar. Argon has atomic number 18 and is the third element in group 18 of the periodic table (noble gases). Argon is present in the Earth's atmosphere at 0.94%. Terrestrially, it is the most abundant and most frequently used of the noble gases. Argon's full outer shell makes it stable and resistant to bonding with other elements. Its triple point temperature of 83.8058 K is a defining fixed point in the International Temperature Scale of 1990.
n has approximately the same solubility in water as oxygen gas and is 2.5 times more soluble in water than nitrogen gas.
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Argon is a chemical element designated by the symbol Ar. Argon has atomic number 18 and is the third element in group 18 of the periodic table (noble gases). Argon is present in the Earth's atmosphere at 0.94%. Terrestrially, it is the most abundant and most frequently used of the noble gases. Argon's full outer shell makes it stable and resistant to bonding with other elements. Its triple point temperature of 83.8058 K is a defining fixed point in the International Temperature Scale of 1990.
Characteristics
Argon has approximately the same solubility in water as oxygen gas and is 2.5 times more soluble in water than nitrogen gas. Argon is colorless, odorless, tasteless and nontoxic in both its liquid and gaseous forms. Argon is inert under most conditions and forms no confirmed stable compounds at room temperature.
Although argon is a noble gas, it has been found to have the capability of forming some compounds. For example, the creation of argon fluorohydride (HArF), a metastable compound of argon with fluorine and hydrogen, was reported by researchers at the University of Helsinki in 2000. Although the neutral ground-state chemical compounds of argon are presently limited to HArF, argon can form clathrates with water when atoms of it are trapped in a lattice of the water molecules. Also argon-containing ions and excited state complexes, such as ArH+ and ArF, respectively, are known to exist. Theoretical calculations have shown several argon compounds that should be stable but for which no synthesis routes are currently known.
History
Argon (Greek meaning "inactive", in reference to its chemical inactivity) was suspected to be present in air by Henry Cavendish in 1785 but was not isolated until 1894 by Lord Rayleigh and Sir William Ramsay in Scotland in an experiment in which they removed all of the oxygen and nitrogen from a sample of air. They had determined that nitrogen produced from chemical compounds was one-half percent lighter than nitrogen from the atmosphere. The difference seemed insignificant, but it was important enough to attract their attention for many months. They concluded that there was another gas in the air mixed in with the nitrogen. Argon was also encountered in 1882 through independent research of Hugh Frank Newall and W.N. Hartley. Each observed new lines in the color spectrum of air but were unable to identify the element responsible for the lines. Argon became the first member of the noble gases to be discovered. The symbol for argon is now Ar, but up until 1957 it was A.
Occurrence
Argon constitutes 0.934% by volume and 1.29% by mass of the Earth's atmosphere, and air is the primary raw material used by industry to produce purified argon products. Argon is isolated from air by fractionation, most commonly by cryogenic fractional distillation, a process that also produces purified nitrogen, oxygen, neon, krypton and xenon.
The Martian atmosphere in contrast contains 1.6% of argon-40 and 5 ppm of argon-36. The Mariner spaceprobe fly-by of the planet Mercury in 1973 found that Mercury has a very thin atmosphere with 70% argon, believed to result from releases of the gas as a decay product from radioactive materials on the planet. In 2005, the Huygens probe also discovered the presence of argon-40 on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn.
Isotopes
The main isotopes of argon found on Earth are 40Ar (99.6%), 36Ar (0.34%), and 38Ar (0.06%). Naturally occurring 40K with a half-life of 1.25 years, decays to stable 40Ar (11.2%) by electron capture and positron emission, and also to stable 40Ca (88.8%) via beta decay. These properties and ratios are used to determine the age of rocks.
In the Earth's atmosphere, 39Ar is made by cosmic ray activity, primarily with 40Ar. In the subsurface environment, it is also produced through neutron capture by 39K or alpha emission by calcium. 37Ar is created from the decay of 40Ca as a result of subsurface nuclear explosions. It has a half-life of 35 days.
Compounds
Argon’s complete octet of electrons indicates full s and p subshells. This full outer energy level makes argon very stable and extremely resistant to bonding with other elements. Before 1962, argon and the other noble gases were considered to be chemically inert and unable to form compounds; however, compounds of the heavier noble gases have since been synthesized. In August 2000, the first argon compounds were formed by researchers at the University of Helsinki. By shining ultraviolet light onto frozen argon containing a small amount of hydrogen fluoride, argon fluorohydride (HArF) was formed. It is stable up to 40 kelvins (-233 °C).
Production
Industrial
Argon is produced industrially by the fractional distillation of liquid air, a process that separates liquid nitrogen, which boils at 77.3 K, from argon, which boils at 87.3 K and oxygen, which boils at 90.2 K. About 700,000 tons of argon are produced worldwide every year.
In radioactive decays
Argon-40, the most abundant isotope of argon, is produced by the decay of potassium-40 with a half-life of 1.26 years by electron capture or positron emission. Because of this, it is used in potassium-argon dating to determine the age of rocks.
Applications
There are several different reasons why argon is used in particular applications:
- An inert gas is needed. In particular, argon is the cheapest alternative when diatomic nitrogen is not sufficiently inert.
- Low thermal conductivity is required.
- The electronic properties (ionization and/or the emission spectrum) are necessary.
Other noble gases would probably work as well in most of these applications, but argon is by far the cheapest. Argon is inexpensive since it is a byproduct of the production of liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen, both of which are used on a large industrial scale. The other noble gases (except helium) are produced this way as well, but argon is the most plentiful since it has the highest concentration in the atmosphere. The bulk of argon applications arise simply because it is inert and relatively cheap.
Industrial processes
Argon is used in some high-temperature industrial processes, where ordinarily unreactive substances become reactive. For example, an argon atmosphere is used in graphite electric furnaces to prevent the graphite from burning.
For some of these processes, the presence of nitrogen or oxygen gases might cause defects within the material. Argon is used in various types of metal inert gas welding such as tungsten inert gas welding, as well as in the processing of titanium and other reactive elements. An argon atmosphere is also used for growing crystals of silicon and germanium.
Argon is an asphyxiant in the poultry industry, either for mass culling following disease outbreaks, or as a means of slaughter more humane than the electric bath. Argon's relatively high density causes it to remain close to the ground during gassing. Its non-reactive nature makes it suitable in a food product, and since it replaces oxygen within the dead bird, argon also enhances shelf life.
Argon is sometimes used for extinguishing fires where damage to equipment is to be avoided (see photo).
Preservative
is packed under argon to avoid reactions with air]]
Argon is used to displace oxygen- and moisture-containing air in packaging material to extend the shelf-lives of the contents. Aerial oxidation, hydrolysis, and other chemical reactions which degrade the products are retarded or prevented entirely. Bottles of high-purity chemicals and certain pharmaceutical products are available in sealed bottles or ampules packed in argon. In winemaking, argon is used to top-off barrels to avoid the aerial oxidation of ethanol to acetic acid during the aging process.
Argon is also available in aerosol-type cans, which may be used to preserve compounds such as varnish, polyurethane, paint, etc. for storage after opening.
Since 2001 the American National Archives stores important national documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution within argon-filled cases to retard their degradation. Using argon reduces gas leakage, compared with the helium used in the preceding five decades.
Laboratory equipment
Argon may be used as the inert gas within Schlenk lines and gloveboxes. The use of argon over comparatively less expensive dinitrogen is preferred where nitrogen may react.
Argon may be used as the carrier gas in gas chromatography and in electrospray ionization mass spectrometry; it is the gas of choice for the plasma used in ICP spectroscopy. Argon is preferred for the sputter coating of specimens for scanning electron microscopy. Argon ions are also used for sputtering in microelectronics.
Medical use
Cryosurgery procedures such as cryoablation use liquified argon to destroy cancer cells. In surgery it is used in a procedure called "argon enhanced coagulation" which is a form of argon plasma beam electrosurgery. The procedure carries a risk of producing gas embolism in the patient and has resulted in the death of one person via this type of accident. Blue argon lasers are used in surgery to weld arteries, destroy tumors, and to correct eye defects. It has also used experimentally to replace nitrogen in the breathing or decompression mix, to speed the elimination of dissolved nitrogen from the blood. See Argox (scuba).
Lighting
Incandescent lights are filled with argon, to preserve the filaments at high temperature. It is used for the specific way it ionizes and emits light, such as in in plasma globes and calorimetry in experimental particle physics. Gas-discharge lamps filled with argon provide blue light. Argon is also used for the creation of blue laser light and was almost used for the Star Wars movies (the idea was not used on the grounds that argon lasers in plastic tubes would be too risky to carry out, so computer generated special effects were used instead).
Miscellaneous uses
It is used for thermal insulation in energy efficient windows. Argon is also used in technical scuba diving to inflate a dry suit, because it is inert and has low thermal conductivity.
Compressed argon is allowed to expand, to cool the seeker heads of the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile, and other missiles that use cooled thermal seeker heads. The gas is stored at high pressure.
Argon-39, with a half life of 269 years, has been used for a number of applications, primarily ice core and ground water dating. Also, potassium-argon dating is used in dating igneous rocks.
Safety
Although argon is non-toxic, it does not satisfy the body's need for oxygen and is thus an asphyxiant. Argon is 25% more dense than air and is considered highly dangerous in closed areas. It is also difficult to detect because it is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. In confined spaces, it is known to result in death due to asphyxiation. A 1994 incident in Alaska that resulted in one fatality highlights the dangers of argon tank leakage in confined spaces, and emphasizes the need for proper use, storage and handling.
Further reading
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- Emsley, J., Nature’s Building Blocks; Oxford University Press: Oxford, NY, 2001; pp. 35-39.
- Brown, T. L.; Bursten, B. E.; LeMay, H. E., In Chemistry: The Central Science, 10th ed.; Challice, J.; Draper, P.; Folchetti, N. et al.; Eds.; Pearson Education, Inc.: Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2006; pp. 276 and 289.
- Triple point temperature: 83.8058 K -
- Triple point pressure: 69 kPa -
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