Argon

Argon, ₁₈Ar

Argon
Pronunciation	/ˈɑːrɡɒn/ ​(AR-gon)
Appearance	colorless gas exhibiting a lilac/violet glow when placed in an electric field
Standard atomic weight Ar°(Ar)
	[39.792, 39.963][1] 39.95±0.16 (abridged)[2]
Argon in the periodic table
Hydrogen Helium Lithium Beryllium Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon Sodium Magnesium Aluminium Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur Chlorine Argon Potassium Calcium Scandium Titanium Vanadium Chromium Manganese Iron Cobalt Nickel Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic Selenium Bromine Krypton Rubidium Strontium Yttrium Zirconium Niobium Molybdenum Technetium Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium Indium Tin Antimony Tellurium Iodine Xenon Caesium Barium Lanthanum Cerium Praseodymium Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium Lutetium Hafnium Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium Osmium Iridium Platinum Gold Mercury (element) Thallium Lead Bismuth Polonium Astatine Radon Francium Radium Actinium Thorium Protactinium Uranium Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium Lawrencium Rutherfordium Dubnium Seaborgium Bohrium Hassium Meitnerium Darmstadtium Roentgenium Copernicium Nihonium Flerovium Moscovium Livermorium Tennessine Oganesson Ne ↑ Ar ↓ Kr chlorine ← argon → potassium
Atomic number (Z)	18
Group	group 18 (noble gases)
Period	period 3
Block	p-block
Electron configuration	[Ne] 3s2 3p6
Electrons per shell	2, 8, 8
Physical properties
Phase at STP	gas
Melting point	83.81 K ​(−189.34 °C, ​−308.81 °F)
Boiling point	87.302 K ​(−185.848 °C, ​−302.526 °F)
Density (at STP)	1.784 g/L
when liquid (at b.p.)	1.3954 g/cm3
Triple point	83.8058 K, ​68.89 kPa[3]
Critical point	150.687 K, 4.863 MPa[3]
Heat of fusion	1.18 kJ/mol
Heat of vaporization	6.53 kJ/mol
Molar heat capacity	20.85[4] J/(mol·K)
Vapor pressure P (Pa) 1 10 100 1 k 10 k 100 k at T (K)   47 53 61 71 87
Atomic properties
Oxidation states	common: (none)
Electronegativity	Pauling scale: no data
Ionization energies	1st: 1520.6 kJ/mol 2nd: 2665.8 kJ/mol 3rd: 3931 kJ/mol (more)
Covalent radius	106±10 pm
Van der Waals radius	188 pm
Spectral lines of argon
Other properties
Natural occurrence	primordial
Crystal structure	​face-centered cubic (fcc) (cF4)
Lattice constant	a = 546.91 pm (at triple point)[5]
Thermal conductivity	17.72×10−3  W/(m⋅K)
Magnetic ordering	diamagnetic[6]
Molar magnetic susceptibility	−19.6×10−6 cm3/mol[7]
Speed of sound	323 m/s (gas, at 27 °C)
CAS Number	7440-37-1
History
Discovery and first isolation	Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsay (1894)
Isotopes of argon v e
Main isotopes[8] Decay abun­dance half-life (t1/2) mode pro­duct 36Ar 0.334% stable 37Ar trace 35 d ε 37Cl 38Ar 0.0630% stable 39Ar trace 268 y β− 39K 40Ar 99.6% stable 41Ar trace 109.34 min β− 41K 42Ar synth 32.9 y β− 42K
Category: Argon view talk edit | references

Argon is a chemical element; it has symbol Ar and atomic number 18. It is in group 18 of the periodic table and is a noble gas.^[9] Argon is the third most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere, at 0.934% (9340 ppmv). It is more than twice as abundant as water vapor (which averages about 4000 ppmv, but varies greatly), 23 times as abundant as carbon dioxide (400 ppmv), and more than 500 times as abundant as neon (18 ppmv). Argon is the most abundant noble gas in Earth's crust, comprising 0.00015% of the crust.

Nearly all argon in Earth's atmosphere is radiogenic argon-40, derived from the decay of potassium-40 in Earth's crust. In the universe, argon-36 is by far the most common argon isotope, as it is the most easily produced by stellar nucleosynthesis in supernovas.

The name "argon" is derived from the Greek word ἀργόν, neuter singular form of ἀργός meaning 'lazy' or 'inactive', as a reference to the fact that the element undergoes almost no chemical reactions. The complete octet (eight electrons) in the outer atomic shell makes argon stable and resistant to bonding with other elements. Its triple point temperature of 83.8058 K is a defining fixed point in the International Temperature Scale of 1990.

Argon is extracted industrially by the fractional distillation of liquid air. It is mostly used as an inert shielding gas in welding and other high-temperature industrial processes where ordinarily unreactive substances become reactive; for example, an argon atmosphere is used in graphite electric furnaces to prevent the graphite from burning. It is also used in incandescent and fluorescent lighting, and other gas-discharge tubes. It makes a distinctive blue-green gas laser. It is also used in fluorescent glow starters.