What do party balloons, neon signs, and certain light bulbs have in common? They are all filled with a noble gas. In this lesson, we will learn about the noble gases, their properties, and their uses.
The noble gases are the group 18 elements. Helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon. These elements are notable for having a full valence shell of electrons.
Helium has two valence electrons. whereas the other noble gases each have eight valence electrons the noble gases all have full valence shells which makes them very stable elements in fact they are so stable that in the past chemists thought that they could not react with other elements which is why they were called the inert or unreactive gases however we know today that some noble gases can indeed react to form some compounds which is why today this group of elements is called the noble gases instead all of the noble gases are colorless and monatomic meaning that they exist as single atoms moving down the group the number of electron shells increases by one shell hence the further down the group the bigger the atom the size of the atom also affects its boiling point these boiling points increase because intermolecular forces between larger atoms with more electrons are greater than that between smaller atoms with fewer electrons also moving down the density of the gases increases because larger atoms take up more space in a set volume since they are very stable and are hardly reactive as well as their individual characteristics the noble gases have many practical real-life applications one you might already know is helium used to fill party balloons. Since it is less dense than air, these balloons float, and because of this property, helium is also used to fill airships. There are actually many interesting uses in industry.
Krypton and xenon are used in some types of lasers and in flat panel display manufacturing. Since the 1990s, xenon is being used increasingly for car headlights to increase road safety. Xenon lamps produce a very bright light and increase contrasts and color vision.
Although it is very inert, when an electrical current is passed through neon, it emits a bright orange light. Light bulbs are filled with argon. Unlike air, it will not react with a tungsten filament. Noble gases are also applied in medicine.
Xenon is an effective natural anesthetic. It helps doctors maintain the patient's blood pressure. and heart rate during operations and has particularly few side effects meanwhile radon is highly radioactive which is a characteristic that has been put to use in radiotherapy in attempts to cure cancer these are the traditional uses of noble gases but it even goes beyond that krypton is sometimes used as a filler in double glazing set between two glass panels krypton will offer very good insulation because it has a lower thermal conductivity than the molecules making up the air. And it doesn't stop.
In the space industry, xenon is used as a propellant that helps us steer satellites on their orbital paths. Its mass ensures that we can put the satellite in movement. So now you know the basics of noble gases, the group 18 elements, also known as group zero. Their stability is one of their main characteristics, allowing for many real-life applications.