Argon
From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science
| Argon | |||||||||||||||||||
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| General Info | |||||||||||||||||||
| Atomic Symbol | Ar | ||||||||||||||||||
| Atomic Number | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Atomic Weight | 39.948 g/mol39.948 amu | ||||||||||||||||||
| Chemical series | [[Noble gases]] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Appearance | Colorless 
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| Group, Period, Block | 18, 3, p | ||||||||||||||||||
| Electron configuration | 1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2, 3p6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Electrons per shell | ? 
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| CAS number | 7440-37-1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Physical properties | |||||||||||||||||||
| Phase | |||||||||||||||||||
| Density | g/mlwarning.png" g/ml" is not a number. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Melting point | warning.png"" is not a number. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Boiling point | warning.png"" is not a number. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Isotopes of Argon | |||||||||||||||||||
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| All properties are for STP unless otherwise stated. | |||||||||||||||||||
Argon is one of the elements that has the atomic number 18, and the symbol Ar. In the periodic table, it is in the third noble gas group, which is the group 18. Argon is usually placed in the Earth's atmosphere, and the amount of it is 1% of the atmosphere. Argon is considered to be the most common noble gas.
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Properties
This element is an inert gas and does not form true chemical compounds. Argon has about the same solubility as oxygen does and it is about one and a half times soluble in water as nitrogen is. This element is both odorless and colorless in both gas and liquid stages. The atmosphere here on earth contains 0.94% argon. [1]
Occurrences
In the Earth, Argon makes up 0.934% volume and 1.29% mass of the atmosphere. Argon can be isolated from the air by fractionation. The most common process of fractionation used to isolate argon from the air is called cryogenic fractional distillation. This process also creates purified oxygen, neon, xenon, nitrogen, and krypton.[2] Argon is a lot more soluble in water than it is in Nitrogen.[3]
In space, the atmosphere has 1.6% argon-40 and 5 ppm of argon-36. In 1973, it was found that the planet Mercury’s atmosphere was very thin and has 70% argon in it. It’s believed that this is due to the gas being released from radioactive materials on the planet as a decay product. Argon was also discovered on the largest moon of Saturn, the Titan, in 2005[4]
Uses
The element Argon is used in a couple of different things, one of which is lighting. Argon is also used to create and inert atmosphere for projects and experiments when explosions could create a problem. This element is also used to measure radiation levels in Geiger counters.[5]
History
Henry Cavendish suspected the presence of Argon in air in 1785, and then in 1894, Lord Rayleigh and Sir William Ramsay did an experiment during which they discovered the element Argon. The experiment consisted of removing all of the oxygen and nitrogen from a sample of air. Argon was the first element from the noble gases that was discovered and until 1957, its symbol was A, but now it is Ar. Argon is Greek for “the lazy one”, and it gets its name dues to its chemical inactivity.[6]
