Xenon

Xenon tube light

Description

Xenon, a noble gas element of atomic number 54, was discovered and named by William Ramsay in 1898. Under standard conditions, xenon is a heavy, colorless, odorless gas that is chemically unreactive. It is the least abundant noble gas composing 0.00087% of the atmosphere, although it occurs more frequently in gases evolved from thermal springs. The principal application for the gas is in electronic devices and lamps.

Uses: filing luminescent tubes, flash lamps for photography, lasers, anesthesia, and hermetically sealed storage cases.

Synonyms and Related Terms

Xe; xénon (Fr.); xeno (It.); Xênon (Port.); xenón (Esp.)

Risks

• Noncombustible

Physical and Chemical Properties

Composition	Xe (atomic no. 54)
CAS	7440-63-3
Melting Point	-112 C
Density	3.05 g/ml
Molecular Weight	atomic wt 131.293
Boiling Point	-107.1 C

Resources and Citations

• Web Elements: Website

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 652

• G.G. Hawley, The Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Reinhold Publishing, New York, 6th ed., 1961

• Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, R.E.Kirk, D.F.Othmer (eds.), John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1984

• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenon (accessed Mar. 10, 2006)