Xenon

Atomic Symbol: Xe
Atomic Number: 54
Atomic Weight: 131.30
Melting Point: -111.79 C
Boiling Point: 119.93 K
Density: .08 part per million
Phase at Room Temperature: Gas
Element Classification: Non-metal
Period Number: 4
Group Number: 18
Group Name: Noble Gas
Greek word for stranger, xenon.
Sounds like ZEE-non.

Xenon in a vacuum tube produces a beautiful blue glow when excited by an electrical discharge

Xenon is an inert noble gas, and for years everyone assumed it was impossible to form compounds out of it. Then someone who didn't know any better started synThesizing a variety of xenon-fluorine compounds, some of which are actually solids at room temperature. This is quite remarkable.

Discovered in 1898 by Ramsay and Travers in residue left after evaporating liquid air, Xenon is a member of the so-called noble or "inert" gases. It is present in the atmosphere to the extent of about one part in twenty million. Xenon is present in the Martian atmosphere to the extent of 0.08 ppm. The element is found in the gases evolved from certain mineral springs, and is commercially obtained by extraction from liquid air.

Natural xenon is composed of nine stable isotopes. In addition to these, 20 unstable isotopes have been characterized. Before 1962, it had generally been assumed that xenon and other noble gases were unable to form compounds. Evidence has been mounting in the past few years that xenon, as well as other members of zero valance elements, do form compounds.

Among the "compounds" of xenon now reported are sodium perxenate, xenon deuterate, xenon hydrate, difluoride, tetrafluoride, and hexafluoride. Xenon trioxide, which is highly explosive, has been prepared.

More than 80 xenon compounds have been made with xenon chemically bonded to fluorine and oxygen. Some xenon compounds are colored. Metallic xenon has been produced, using several hundred kilobars of pressure. Xenon in a vacuum tube produces a beautiful blue glow when excited by an electrical discharge.

The gas is used in making electron tubes, stoboscopic lamps, bactericidal lamps, and lamps used to excite ruby lasers that generate coherent light. Xenon is used in the nuclear energy field in bubble chambers, probes, and other applications where a high molecular weight is of value. The perxenates are used in analytical chemistry as oxidizing agents. 133Xe and 135Xe are produced by neutron irradiation in air cooled nuclear reactors. 133Xe has useful applications as a radioisotope. The element is available in sealed glass containers of gas at standard pressure. Xenon is not toxic, but its compounds are highly toxic because of their strong oxidizing characteristics.

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