Air

Characteristics of Air
Air:

- Is a mixture of invisible gases

- Is everywhere
- Occupies space
- Has weight
- Presses equally in all directions
- Can move; moving air is called a breeze; a stronger movement is a wind
- Can be squeezed/compressed
• Hot air rises; cool or cold air sinks
• Bubbles in a liquid show that air is present

Composition of Air
The main gases found in the air are: The inert gases in the air are:

Gas Proportion - Krypton - Neon

Nitrogen 79%
Oxygen 20% - Argon - Xenon
Carbon Dioxide 0.04%
Inert Gases 0.96% - Radon - Helium
The Uses of Gases in the Air
Nitrogen –

- To make nitrogenous compounds used as fertilizers

- To freeze food ( liquid nitrogen is so cold that it freezes things immediately

- This element is present in virtually all pharmacological drugs. In the form of

nitrous oxide it is used as an anesthetic. Cryopreservation also uses the gas to
conserve egg, blood, sperm and other biological specimens. The CPUs in
computers use the gas to keep them from heating up. X-ray detectors also rely on
this element.
- Nitrogen tanks are also used as paintball gun power sources. These elements have
proven to be so effective in this regard they have replaced carbon dioxide. This
non-metallic chemical element can be used to fill aircraft and some vehicle tires.
The same element is found in military aircraft fuel systems to combat fire hazards.
Other common uses for the element are in steel production and in high voltage
equipment.
- In the latter case, nitrogen is pressurized and dried first. Integrated circuits, diodes,
transistors and other electrical components use it too. Nitrogen is present in liquid
explosives so they do not explode.

Oxygen –
- For breathing
- To support burning
- For welding
- This gas is used in various industrial chemical applications. It is used to make
acids, sulfuric acid, nitric acid and other compounds.
- Its most reactive variant is ozone O3. It is applied in assorted chemical reactions.
The goal is to boost reaction rate and oxidation of unwanted compounds.
- Hot oxygen air is required to make steel and iron in blast furnaces.
- Some mining companies use it to destroy rocks.

Carbon Dioxide –

- In fire extinguishers
- In aerated drinks
- In carbonated water
- To make dry ice
- Most important use of carbon dioxide is as a raw material for photosynthesis.
Large quantities of solid carbon dioxide in the form of dry ice are used in
processes requiring large scale refrigeration. Carbon dioxide is also used in fire
extinguishers as a desirable alternative to water for most fires.
- In some foods
- In lasers
- As refrigerants

Argon –
- To fill light bulbs
- Argon provides an inert atmosphere in which welded metals will not oxidise.

Helium -

- To fill air ships

- To fill hot air balloons
- The gas is also used as light weight aircraft fuel.
- Divers use oxygen and helium during their dives. The combination provides them
with the atmosphere necessary to survive in high pressure environments.

Neon –

- In strip lighting
- The element is also used in helium neon lasers, television tubes and wave meter
tubes.
- It is also used in lightning arresters. This is used to shield electrical equipment
from lightning.
- There are also high voltage indicators and vacuum tubes that employ it.

Xenon –

- Used in making electron tubes, stroboscopic lamps, bactericidal lamps, and lamps
used to excite ruby lasers for generating coherent light
- Used in the atomic energy field in bubble chambers, probes, and other
applications where its high molecular weight is of value
- Potentially useful as a gas for ion engines
- The perxenates are used in analytical chemistry as oxidizing agents.

Radon –

- used in making electron tubes, stroboscopic lamps, bactericidal lamps, and lamps
used to excite ruby lasers for generating coherent light
- used in the atomic energy field in bubble chambers, probes, and other
applications where its high molecular weight is of value
- potentially useful as a gas for ion engines
- the perxenates are used in analytical chemistry as oxidizing agents

Krypton –

- Used with argon as a low-pressure filling gas for fluorescent lights

- Used in some photographic flash lamps for high-speed photography, lamps, UV-
laser spectral line used for international measurement of a metre