Nitrogen
By Nelivette Sanchez
History
Nitrogen was discovered in England around the year 1772. Daniel Rutherford was the discoverer of Nitrogen. He removed oxygen and carbon dioxide from air in order to discover Nitrogen.
What Could Nitrogen Be Used For
Nitrogen - Periodic Table of Videos
Properties
Nitrogen is a gas, therefore is is colorless. Nitrogen is also odorless in that case. Because this element is a gas, Nitrogen is not a good conductor, not malleable, or we can not find the hardness for it.
Nitrogen is also not very reactive or flammable.
Isotopes
N-14 is a stable isotope, meaning it is not radioactive. This isotope makes up about 99.6% of natural nitrogen.
N-15 is also stable. Although is a rare stable isotope. This isotope is normally used for agriculture and medical research.
Compounds
Nitrogen's compounds are Potassium Nitrate (KNO3) and Sodium Nitrate (NaNO3).
These compounds are used to makes meat last longer and look the way they look. For example, they protect the meat from getting any type of bacteria. It also helps the meat keeps it color.
These compounds are also used in drinking water, making the water more soluble.
Interesting facts
Nitrogen was actually first made in Egypt. People made a mixture dung, salt, and urine and then heated this mixture. While the mixture was heated the gas was slowly creating itself.
Nitrogen is actually the fifth most abundant in the universe. It makes up over 78% of the universe's atmosphere.
Souces Used
- Element Card: Gray, Theodore W. (2008). The Photographic Card Deck of the Elements.
- Elements Book: Gray, Theodore W. (2009). The Elements: A visual exploration of every known atom in the universe. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc.
- Jefferson Lab Periodic Table: http://periodic.lanl.gov/index.shtml
- Royal Society of Chemistry Periodic Table: http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table
- Jefferson Lab Periodic Table: http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele007.html