Argon

Argon
Argon is one of the most inert (non reactive) elements. One of the main rules of chemistry is that almost all elements want to have 8 electrons in its outer shell. Therefore, they bond with others to achieve this goal. Because of this, argon, with a shell configuration of 2, 8, 8, does not need to bond with anything.

History
Argon was suspected to be present in the atmosphere by Henry Cavendish in 1785.

Here are some basic facts about Argon:

Argon's standard atomic weight is 39.948

Argon is 0.93% of the Earth's atmosphere

Melting point:-308.83 ºF

Boiling point:-302.53 ºF

Phase at room temp: gas

Atomic number: 18

Atomic symbol: Ar

At left is what an argon atom would look like if you pushed all the electrons together and and slowed down all the motion. Argon emits a bright blue light when a electric current is run through it.

=Argon= Argon cyliders

Applications in Particle Searches
The nucleus of an Argon atom is used to provoke scintillation light from the currently hypothetical WIMP particle. The reasoning for using Argon as opposed to Xenon is that Argon is cheaper, easier to purify, and has a distinct scintillation time profile.

Preservative
Argon can be used to displace the air in packaging material to prevent aerial oxidation, hydrolysis and other potentially harmful processes. The American National Archives stores important documents, such as the constitution and Declaration of Independence in argon filled cases. It was chosen to replace helium gas which escaped through the containers and had to be regularly replaced.

Medical Science
Argon is used in blue argon lasers, which are used in surgery to correct eye defects, weld arteries and destroy tumors. Argon is experimentally used to replace nitrogen in a new decompression mix known as Argox, which speeds the elimination of dissolved Nitrogen from the blood Procedures such as cryoablation use liquid argon to destroy tissues such as cancerous cells. It is also used in a procedure called argon plasma beam electrosurgery, which uses plasma beams to cut through bone tissue.

Attractive properties
Oliver Loreto
 * Argon is chemical inert
 * Cheapest alternative to nitrogen
 * Low thermal conductivity
 * Electronic Properties
 * Noble Gas
 * Occurs naturally in air
 * Byproduct of the process which creates liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen