Sản phẩm - Argon - เมสเซอร์ ประเทศไทย

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Argon

Chemical Symbol:

Occurrence:

Most common noble gas on Earth; about 0.93 % share of the atmosphere

Boiling point:

-186 °C

Freezing point:

-189 °C

Extraction:

Air separation

Chemical properties:

Colorless, odorless noble gas, monatomic and extremely inert, heavier than air, nonflammable

Argon is used as a shielding gas in welding and for degassing molten metals. It also serves as a filler gas in light bulbs, a lighting gas in gas discharge lamps, and as the lasing medium in argon-ion lasers. Additionally, argon is used as a secondary gas in insulated glass panels and to prevent oxidation in the food and beverage industry. Remarkably, it can even be used as a gaseous solvent.

A person inhales and exhales around 120 liters of argon every day, as it makes up nearly 1% of the Earth's atmosphere—making it the third most abundant component after oxygen and nitrogen. One liter of air contains about 9.3 milliliters of argon. In space, argon is the third most common noble gas after helium and neon. On Earth, it is the most abundant of the seven noble gases.

By far the largest share of argon on Earth is in the air. Because argon is also created by the decomposition of the potassium isotope 40K in the Earth’s crust, small quantities of it exist in rock. From volcanoes and hot springs, the noble gas also escapes into seawater and groundwater.

Argon was the second noble gas to be scientifically described, after helium. British chemists William Ramsay and William Rayleigh discovered it in 1894 while studying the composition of air. Because this gas — like all noble gases — proved to be extremely unreactive, they named it “argon” after the Ancient Greek word aergon, meaning “lazy” or “inactive.” To this day, only one chemical compound of argon is known: argon fluorohydride (HArF). It is only stable at extremely low temperatures, and its existence was confirmed by Finnish scientists in 2000.

Argon is non-flammable, heavier than air, and largely chemically inert. Most industrially produced argon is used as a shielding gas in welding and metallurgy — for example, in the production of steel, pure silicon, or titanium. It’s also used as a propellant gas in automatic fire suppression systems and, when mixed with helium, helps airbags inflate instantly in emergency situations. Due to its low thermal conductivity, argon is an excellent insulating gas for the space between panes in double-glazed windows. In winemaking, it’s used for transferring wine and as a protective gas in barrels to prevent oxidation. Argon is also used as a filler gas in light bulbs and as a lighting gas in gas discharge lamps — where it produces a characteristic violet glow.