Argon

Argon Gas Glowing a Violet Color in a Vial

Argon is a noble gas that is also chemically inert. Argon is about one percent of the Earth’s atmosphere, making it the third most abundant gas in air. It was thought that Argon formed no compounds, but Finnish researchers demonstrated, in August, 2000, that despite it’s inert qualities it can still be combined with other atoms to form a compound. The compound is very fragile, and can only exist at a cool -446 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s formed with Fluorine and Hydrogen, known as argon fluorohydride, or HArF. The first Noble Gas to be discovered, Argon was identified in 1894 by the English physicist Lord Rayleigh and the Scottish chemist William Ramsay. The element was identified by the light signatures it gave off when an electrical discharge was passed through the gas. It was called Argon, derived from the Greek word argos, meaning “inactive” or “lazy” (Stwertka, 71).

Pouring of Liquid Argon

Argon is obtained commercially by the distillation of liquid air. Argon has a boiling point between Nitrogen and Oxygen, and Argon is usually a byproduct of the production of these other two gases. The lack of chemical reactivity in Argon is used in its commercial application. It is a relatively abundant gas, and because of this it is more commonly used than the other noble gases. Argon is used to fill incandescent light bulbs, which replaces the ordinary air. Doing so prevents the corrosion of the Tungsten filaments in the bulb. Argon is also present in Fluorescent bulbs, instead of air. Also, Argon has been used in laboratories which engage in nuclear physics. Argon is also an important decay product of a radioisotope used for dating rock samples. The isotope is potassium-40, a radioactive isotope with a half life of one and a half billion years, extremely long. Argon is formed in the product of the disintegration of the isotope. This technique of dating is called potassium-argon dating. Because potassium is present in a variety of rocks, the amount of Argon will reveal clues about the date which the rock solidified.

Argon’s Periodic Square

Located on the periodic table, Argon sits at group 18, period 3, Block P with an atomic number of 18. It is a gas at room temperature. The electron configuration of Argon goes as follows: 1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2, 3p6, while the abbreviated configuration in [Ne] 3s2, 3p6. The melting point and boiling points are very close, with the melting point at -189.34 oC, -308.81 oF, or 83.81 K, and the boiling point at -185.848 oC, -302.526 oF, or 87.302 K. Atomically, Argon is considered an unstable element. The non-bonded atomic radius of Argon is 1.88, while the Covalent radius is 1.01.