Xenon is a non- metallic chemical element. The chemical symbol of Xenon is Xe and its atomic number is 54. Xenon is a noble gas as it is found in the form of a gas at Standard temperature and pressure.
Morris Travers and William Ramsay are to be credited with the discovery of this noble gas in London during 1898. The discovery of this non- metallic chemical element was done as a residue matter that remained in the process of fractionally distilling liquid air Xenon got its name from the Greek word ‘Xenos’ that means stranger, supporting the fact that it was strangely discovered.
Characteristics and Appearances of Xenon
The compounds of Xenon are considered to be a little toxic as they possess the properties of a strong oxidizing compound. The noble gas itself in its purest form is not considered toxic. Xenon has the following characteristics:
- It is a rare element and is not found in a lot of abundance on earth.
- The gas does not possess any special kind of smell and is said to be odorless.
- The gas is rather heavy weighted.
- It doesn’t react with most of the chemicals.
- The Xenon tetroxide and the Xenon trioxide are the oxides of Xenon that are made with fluorine or oxygen and are considered to be highly explosive.
- Xenon is considered to be present in traces in the atmosphere of the Earth.
Some Facts about Xenon
- Xenon is said to found in the atmosphere of the Mars in approximately 0.08 parts every million.
- The Jupiter holds a great amount of xenon that is said to be exactly three times than the Sun.
- In the form of a metal, the element has a blue color.
- Xenon is the only element to have 8 stable isotopes.
Xenon and its Uses
There are a number of uses of xenon in the field or research and studies and also in our daily lives.
- Xenon is used to in the production of ultraviolet light using arc lamps at high pressure
- Xenon is also used as a radiation detector instrument
- Xenon also has medicinal uses
- Modern day ion thrusters make use of xenon for space travelling.
- It is used in house lamps for a beautiful blue color.
- Xenon is also used in ion propulsion systems that help the satellites to remain in their orbits.
Xenon is only present in the atmosphere in the ratio of approximately 0.08 per million parts and can only be extracted as a residue of the liquid air extraction.
