• Question: what is argon?

    Asked by ginger-nut to George on 11 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: George Dowson

      George Dowson answered on 11 Nov 2014:

      Argon is a noble gas. The noble gases are a group of elements on the far right hand side of the periodic table and are elements with full electron shells.
      Because they have full shells, they are “happy” with the number of electrons they have so are very unreactive as they don’t want to gain, lose or share any. The gases lower down the list like Krypton can be made to react if you force them hard enough but for practical purposes, the ones at the top, argon, neon and helium are completely inert so are useful as gases that can block out air if you’re doing a reaction that is air sensitive.
      Argon is found in normal air at quantities of around 1% so it is quite abundant.

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