Argon is an inert gas that is both colorless and odorless and that
is grouped in the Noble gases. Argon acquired its name from the Greek word for “lazy,” referring
to its tendency to have little reactivity when
it comes to forming compounds. This gas is most commonly
used in welding and
likewise used frequently
in fluorescent lighting.
According to Chemicool, a large amount
of the argon on Earth is the isotope argon-40, which is formed
from the radioactive decay of potassium-40. Contrarily, argon in space is created
from stars, that takes place
when two hydrogen nuclei fuse with silicon-32, resulting in the isotope
argon-36.
Argon, while inert,
is not limited. Conversely, about 0.9 percent of the earth’s atmosphere
is made up of this gas. According to calculations by Chemicool, this means there are
around 65 million metric tons of
argon in the atmosphere, and this number
continues to increase as potassium-40 decays over time.
To detail a few of its traits,
Argon (Ar) has the atomic number 18 and an atomic weight of 39.948. At room
temperature, Argon is a gas.
The first discovery of argon occurred
in in 1785 when Henry Cavendish, a British
scientist, identified a
segment of air that seemed especially inert. At first, Cavendish was unable to tell what this air was. This remained undetermined until over one hundred years later, when two
men, Lord Rayleigh and Scottish chemist William Ramsey were able
to accurately label
and define the gas, which subsequently earned them the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for
this discovery. In addition to this, studying
argon’s elemental properties also led Ramsey to the discovery of helium, neon,
krypton, and xenon.
Due to its inertness, argon is often
employed in industrial practices
that necessitate for a non-reactive atmosphere. Likewise, argon works well as an
effective insulator, leading to its common use in warming
divers when deep-sea diving. Argon is likewise used in historical preservation and is pumped around important
documents such as the Magna Carta and a world map that dates back all the way
to 1507. Unlike
oxygen and similar reactive elements, the argon preserves the paper and ink on these fragile
documents.
Additionally, there are quite
a few lesser-known utilizations
for argon. For example, argon is used in neon lights that shine blue, since
neon itself exudes an orange-red color. Also, argon is often employed in laser technology, including the lasers used in vision
correction surgeries such as LASIK and PRK procedures. Argon has even been utilized
to uncover contaminated groundwater in a
few locations in the United States. In this instance,
argon and other noble gases were injected into wells where they infused
with methane.
At the current time, there is a significant
amount of research being conducted on argon to determine
more potential uses of the gas. For example, it is right
now being looked at as a possible
alternative to the costly gas xenon and its function
in treatment of brain injuries. In addition, certain experiments have found
that argon could at some point be employed
to limit brain injuries that have occurred a result of oxygen deprivation or other traumatic
incidents. A review published in the Medical Gas Research journal said
that in several circumstances, treating injuries with argon considerably
decreased the death of brain cells. Researchers are presently still not sure about why argon impacts brain cells in this manner.
Until now, argon has been used
in this research by either being applied directly to cells in a culture dish or administered
along with oxygen in a facemask for animal studies. As
argon research advances, it is turning
increasingly likely that human trials will start eventually. However,
it seems that there are likely risks involved
with argon treatment, thus more research must be conducted until this
practice can be applied.
Whether you’re searching for argon to be used in
the medical industry or any other industry that utilizes
specialty gases, PurityPlus has a huge selection
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