K for Krypton

This is the 11th in the series of 26 posts this month, one post a day, barring four Sundays, each on a theme corresponding to a letter of the English alphabet. My theme this year is "Chemicals in our life", spurred by my interest in chemistry.

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When it came to K, I didn't many choices, because there is only one element that begins with this letter. It's Krypton. 

Most of the elements that we have seen so far are quite reactive. But Krypton is one with very low reactivity, a characteristic of what are called noble gases.

The other noble gases are helium, neon, argon, xenon, and radon. These are all naturally occurring.

There is one more in this group called oganesson, but this is a synthetic chemical element, made first in 2002. Though this is classified in the noble gas group, unlike the others, this is reactive.  

Krypton is a colourless, odourless, and tasteless gas that has a whitish glow when an electric current passes through it.

It was discovered in 1898 by Sir William Ramsay, a Scottish chemist, and Morris W. Travers, a British chemist, who isolated it from the residue of liquid air.

William Ramsay won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 for the discovery of a series of noble gases, including krypton.

The name krypton comes from the Greek word kryptos, meaning "hidden", because it was difficult to detect this among other gases. 

It is present in trace amounts in the Earth's atmosphere, about 1.14 parts per million by volume.

Krypton has several applications in lighting and lasers. 

It is used in some fluorescent lamps, where it produces a bright white light that is more energy-efficient than conventional incandescent bulbs. 

It is also used in flash lamps for high-speed photography and in some lasers for eye surgery and research.

Krypton can form compounds with some highly reactive elements, such as fluorine and oxygen, under extreme conditions. 

These compounds are called krypton fluorides and krypton oxides, and they have potential applications in rocket propulsion and nuclear energy.

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Image from Pixabay

The information provided in this post has been obtained from multiple, authentic resources. However, it is presented in an abridged format and might not have all the details. Therefore, before acting on any information, readers are requested to exercise caution and do further research.

This post is a part of #BlogchatterA2Z 2023. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.