One of the noble gases, Argon (Ar) is colorless, odorless and, like all noble gases, inert. A gas at standard temperature and pressure, Argon is named after the Greek word for “inactive.” Although Ar is present only at low levels in the atmosphere, it is still five hundred times more plentiful than neon, the next most abundant of the noble gases. Its inertness makes it perfect for working with air-sensitive materials, such as you would find in the semiconductor industry. It commercially viable for Argon gas supply Chicago.
As well as the semiconductor industry, Ar is used in lasers for cutting titanium, in welding and in the refinement of stainless steel. Because it has very low thermal conductivity, Argon is blown into the space between two panels of double glazing. Here, it acts as an insulator in homes and in commercial buildings. During the winter time, it keeps the cold air out and the warm air inside. In the summer, it does the reverse. The gas, Ar, is also used in spectrographic analysis.
The lightest of the noble gases is helium (chemical symbol He). Like Ar, it is odorless, colorless and inert. The melting and boiling points of Helium are the lowest of all the elements. Because helium is lighter than air, it is often used in party balloons. Inhaling the gas causes the user to speak with a squeaky voice. A coroner in the United Kingdom is calling for sales of the gas to be regulated after a 23 year-old college student used it to kill himself.
Neon is the second noble gas. Listed in between Ar and helium in the Mendeleev Periodic Table of the elements, it, too, is odorless, colorless and inert. Neon’s principle commercial applications are gas lasers, cryogenic refrigeration and in lighting.
The fourth noble gas is Krypton. Apparently a form of it is toxic to Superman. Its name comes from the Greek word for “hidden.” Krypton was discovered during the same six-week period in 1898 by two British scientists, Morris Travers and Sir William Ramsay. Apart from being very useful for disarming superheroes, krypton is used in photographic flash lamps and as a low-pressure filling gas for fluorescent lighting. Krypton is produced from the distillation of liquid air.
Xenon, the next noble gas, is present in the Earth in trace amounts. Used commercially in lighting, krypton’s most common use is in scrabble games, owing to the high-scoring letter “x”. Like the other noble gases, it gets its name from the Greek language. In this case, it is the word meaning “hidden.”
Finally, at the bottom of the list of noble gases, we find radon, the heaviest one. It has the unique ability to phosphorese when it is cooled below its freezing point (-98.5F). It is the only gas that is radioactive, which is why it is used in cancer therapy. Radon’s Greek name is “the middle element.”
Argon gas supply Chicago is the third most common gas in the atmosphere. It is very valuable commercially. It is used in double-glazed windows, in lasers and in the computer industry.
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