Argon

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This article pertains to the chemical element. For other uses, see argon (disambiguation).

18 chlorine ← argon → potassium Ne ↑ Ar ↓ Kr Periodic Table - Extended Periodic Table
General
Name, Symbol, Number	argon, Ar, 18
Chemical series	noble gases
Group, Period, Block	18, 3, p
Appearance	colorless
Atomic mass	39.948(1)  g·mol−1
Electron configuration	[Ne] 3s2 3p6
Electrons per shell	2, 8, 8
Physical properties
Phase	gas (At room temperature)
Density	(0 °C, 101.325 kPa) 1.784 g/L
Melting point	83.80 K (-189.35 °C, -308.83 °F)
Boiling point	87.30 K (-185.85 °C, -302.53 °F)
Triple point	83.8058[1] K, 69 kPa[2]
Critical point	150.87 K, 4.898 MPa
Heat of fusion	1.18  kJ·mol−1
Heat of vaporization	6.43  kJ·mol−1
Heat capacity	(25 °C) 20.786  J·mol−1·K−1
Vapor pressure P(Pa) 1 10 100 1 k 10 k 100 k at T(K)   47 53 61 71 87
Atomic properties
Crystal structure	cubic face centered
Oxidation states	0
Electronegativity	no data (Pauling scale)
Ionization energies (more)	1st:  1520.6  kJ·mol−1
	2nd:  2665.8  kJ·mol−1
	3rd:  3931  kJ·mol−1
Atomic radius	71  pm
Atomic radius (calc.)	71  pm
Covalent radius	97  pm
Van der Waals radius	188 pm
Miscellaneous
Magnetic ordering	nonmagnetic
Thermal conductivity	(300 K) 17.72 m W·m−1·K−1
Speed of sound	(gas, 27 °C) 323 m/s
CAS registry number	7440-37-1
Selected isotopes
Main article: Isotopes of argon iso NA half-life DM DE (MeV) DP 36Ar 0.337% Ar is stable with 18 neutrons 37Ar syn 35 d ε  ? 37Cl 38Ar 0.063% Ar is stable with 20 neutrons 39Ar syn 269 y β- 0.565 39K 40Ar 99.600% Ar is stable with 22 neutrons 41Ar syn 109.34 min β- 2.49 41K 42Ar syn 32.9 y β- 0.600 42K
References

Argon (IPA:/ˈɑːgɒn/) 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 slightly less than 1%, making it the most common noble gas on Earth. Its full outer shell makes argon 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.^[1]

[edit] Characteristics

Argon has approximately the same solubility in water as oxygen gas and is 2.5 times more soluble in water than nitrogen gas.^[3] This highly stable chemical element 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. The creation of argon hydrofluoride (HArF), a metastable compound of argon with fluorine and hydrogen, was first 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.^[4] Also argon-containing ions e.g. ArH+ and excited state complexes e.g. ArF are well known. Theoretical calculations on computers have shown several argon compounds that should be stable but for which no synthesis routes are currently known.

[edit] Applications

Canisters containing Argon Gas for use in extinguishing fire without damaging server equipment

Argon is used in incandescent lighting and other applications in which diatomic nitrogen is not sufficiently inert. Argon will not react with the filament of light bulbs even at high temperatures. Other uses: It is used as an inert gas shield in many forms of welding, including metal inert gas welding and tungsten inert gas welding, the gas of choice for the plasma used in ICP spectroscopy, as a non-reactive blanket in the manufacture of titanium and other reactive elements, and a protective atmosphere for growing silicon and germanium crystals. It is also used in plasma globes, partial pressure heat treat furnaces, and as a gas for thermal insulation in energy efficient windows.^[5]

Argon-39 has been used for a number of applications, primarily ice coring. It has also been used for ground water dating. Cryosurgery procedures such as cryoablation use liquified argon to destroy cancer cells. Liquid argon is used in calorimetry in experimental particle physics. Argon is used in technical scuba diving to inflate a dry suit, because it is inert and has low thermal conductivity. Blue argon lasers are used in surgery to weld arteries, destroy tumors, and to correct eye defects.^[6]

Due to its inert qualities, it is commonly used by museum conservators to protect old materials or documents, which are prone to gradual oxidation in the presence of air. ^[7]

Argon is used to keep open bottles of wine from oxidizing, and is used in a number of dispensing units and keeper cap systems. In winemaking it is used as barrels are often topped off with the gas to displace oxygen, thus preventing the wine from turning to vinegar during the aging process. 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. ^[8]

[edit] History

Argon (Greek αργόν meaning "the lazy one," in reference to its chemical inactivity) [2] was suspected to be present in air by Henry Cavendish in 1785 but was not discovered until 1894 by Lord Rayleigh and Sir William Ramsay in an experiment in which they removed all of the oxygen and nitrogen from the air. Argon was also encountered in 1882 through independent research of H.F. 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.^[9]

[edit] Occurrence

An argon and mercury discharge tube. The mercury vapour glows brightly when an electric current is passed through it while the argon acts as the current carrier.

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.^[10]

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.^[11]

[edit] Compounds

A small piece of rapidly melting argon ice.

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 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 hydrofluoride (HArF) was formed.^[12] It is stable up to 40 kelvins (−233 °C).

[edit] Isotopes

The main isotopes of argon found on Earth are ⁴⁰Ar, ³⁶Ar, and ³⁸Ar. Naturally occurring ⁴⁰K with a half-life of 1.250×10⁹ years, decays to stable ⁴⁰Ar (11.2%) by electron capture and by positron emission, and also transforms to stable ⁴⁰Ca (88.8%) via beta decay. These properties and ratios are used to determine the age of rocks.^[13]

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.^[13]

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} Preston-Thomas, H. (1990). "The International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90)". Metrologia 27: 3-10. 
2. ^ (2005) "Section 4, Properties of the Elements and Inorganic Compounds; Melting, boiling, triple, and critical temperatures of the elements", CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 85th edition, Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. 
3. ^ Argon - Ar. Lenntech.
4. ^ Belosludov, V. R.; O. S. Subbotin, D. S. Krupskii, O. V. Prokuda, and Y. Kawazoe (2006). Microscopic model of clathrate compounds (English) 1. Institute of Physics Publishing. Retrieved on 2007-03-08.
5. ^ Energy-Efficient Windows. Bc Hydro. Retrieved on 2007-03-08.
6. ^ Fujimoto, James; Rox Anderson, R. (2006). Tissue Optics, Laser-Tissue Interaction, and Tissue Engineering (English) 77-88. Biomedical Optics. Retrieved on 2007-03-08.
7. ^ USA National Archives description of how the Declaration of Independence is stored and displayed. More detail can be found in this more technical explanation, specially Page 4, which talks about the argon keeping the oxygen out.
8. ^ [[1] Fatal Gas Embolism Caused by Overpressurization during Laparoscopic Use of Argon Enhanced Coagulation] (English). MDSR (24).
9. ^ Holden, Norman E. (12). History of the Origin of the Chemical Elements and Their Discoverers (English). National Nuclear Data Center (NNDC).
10. ^ Argon, Ar. Retrieved on 2007-03-08.
11. ^ Seeing, touching and smelling the extraordinarily Earth-like world of Titan (English). European Space Agency (21).
12. ^ Bartlett, Neil. The Noble Gases (English). Chemical & Engineering News.
13. ^ ^{a b} 40Ar/39Ar dating and errors. Retrieved on 2007-03-07.

[edit] Other references

• Los Alamos National Laboratory – Argon
• USGS Periodic Table - Argon
• 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.

[edit] External links

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