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The noble gases have also been referred to as inert gases, but this label is deprecated as many noble gas compounds are now known. [6] Rare gases is another term that was used, [ 7 ] but this is also inaccurate because argon forms a fairly considerable part (0.94% by volume, 1.3% by mass) of the Earth's atmosphere due to decay of radioactive ...
It is one of only two elements named after a person who was alive at the time of naming, the other being seaborgium, and the only element whose eponym is alive as of 2024. [ 17 ] [ a ] Oganesson has the highest atomic number and highest atomic mass of all known elements as of 2024 [update] .
At standard temperature and pressure, two atoms of the element bond to form N 2, a colourless and odourless diatomic gas. N 2 forms about 78% of Earth's atmosphere, making it the most abundant chemical species in air. Because of the volatility of nitrogen compounds, nitrogen is relatively rare in the solid parts of the Earth.
The next two elements, elements 119 and 120, should form an 8s series and be an alkali and alkaline earth metal, respectively. Beyond element 120, the superactinide series is expected to begin, when the 8s electrons and the filling of the 8p 1/2, 7d 3/2, 6f, and 5g subshells determine the chemistry of these elements.
Here [Ne] refers to the core electrons which are the same as for the element neon (Ne), the last noble gas before phosphorus in the periodic table. The valence electrons (here 3s 2 3p 3) are written explicitly for all atoms. Electron configurations of elements beyond hassium (element 108) have never been measured; predictions are used below.
Lithium has two electrons in the 1s-subshell and one in the (higher-energy) 2s-subshell, so its configuration is written 1s 2 2s 1 (pronounced "one-s-two, two-s-one"). Phosphorus (atomic number 15) is as follows: 1s 2 2s 2 2p 6 3s 2 3p 3. For atoms with many electrons, this notation can become lengthy and so an abbreviated notation is used.
The noble gases (helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon and radon) were previously known as 'inert gases' because of their perceived lack of participation in any chemical reactions. The reason for this is that their outermost electron shells (valence shells) are completely filled, so that they have little tendency to gain or lose electrons.
The two electrons in the same orbital are closer together on average than two electrons in different orbitals, so that they shield each other from the nucleus more effectively and it is easier to remove one electron, resulting in a lower ionization energy. [2] [14] Furthermore, after every noble gas element, the ionization energy drastically drops.