History of krypton

• Krypton was discovered in Britain in 1898 by William Ramsay(1852-1916), a Scottish

chemist(discovered argon, helium, neon, krypton and xenon) and Morris William
Travers(1872-1861) a British chemist(discovered neon, krypton and xenon) discovered
krypton as the residue of evaporating almost all of the other components of liquid air.
• Krypton was discovered partially by accident, that is why the original name of the krypton is
“kryptos” meaning hidden that is derived from the Greek.
• The element is named after the Sun God, 'Kryptos'.
• Sir William Ramsay was a giant when it came to the discovery of various gases in his time.
Unlike what most people see or think about the air, it is not simple. We don’t just breath in
elements that keep us alive and vital for function in everyday life. Again, William Ramsay
was the one who pointed it out.
• William Ramsay was awarded the 1904 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovery of a series
of noble gases, including krypton.
• Krypton was once used as a source for obtaining artificial rubies, which were produced
by heating corundum with krypton and helium and then exposing it to ultraviolet light so
as to produce red glowing crystals of corundum, known as Ruby Fussoir, which became
very popular during 1930s and 1940s.
• In 1933, the world's first neon lamp using Krypton gas was made by Frederick Mosby &
James Heyrovsk at NELCO Labs in Illinois USA. This sign is still in use and can be seen at
the Northwestern University.
• From 1960 to 1983 the isotope krypton-86 was used to define the standard measure of
length. One metre was defined as exactly 1,650,763.73 wavelengths of a line in the
atomic spectrum of the isotope.
• In 2010, scientists discovered that under certain ultrashort pulsed laser conditions
krypton can emit powerful electrical discharges at ten times the peak power of any light
source.
Krypton structure
• Krypton is characterized by several sharp emission lines (spectral
signatures) the strongest being green and yellow. Krypton is one of
the products of uranium fission. Solid krypton is white and has a face-
centered cubic crystal structure, which is a common property of all
noble gases (except helium, which has a hexagonal close-packed
crystal structure).
Background information about Krypton
• Krypton is one among the noble gases found on the periodic table along with the likes of
helium, neon and argon.
• 4th period and 18 groups
• Chemical symbol = Kr
• Room temperature = gas
• Boiling point = -153.4 C
• Melting point = -157.4 C
• Oxidation no = 0,2
• Groups = 18 (noble gas or single gas)
• Electron per shells = 2,8,18,8
• Density = 3.733 g/liters
Krypton isotopes
• Natural krypton is a mixture of six stable isotopes: krypton-84 (56.99 percent),
krypton-86 (17.28 percent), krypton-82 (11.59 percent), krypton-83 (11.5 percent),
krypton-80 (2.29 percent), and krypton-78 (0.36 percent).
• Krypton 1- proton=36, neutron=48
• Krypton 2- proton=36, neutron=44
• Krypton 3- proton=36, neutron=46
• Krypton 4- proton=36, neutron=47
• Krypton 5- proton=36, neutron=48
• Krypton 6- proton=36, neutron=56

• Krypton doesn’t have allortropes.

Characteristics
• Krypton is noble gas and non-metal.
• Being a noble gas means that krypton does not react chemically with other elements or
compounds except fluorine gas.
• Krypton is chemically highly unreactive.
• Krypton is colorless, tasteless and odorless.
• Krypton was left after liquid air had nearly boiled away.
• Krypton was left in the residue after boiling away water, oxygen, nitrogen, helium and argon from
the sample of air.
• Krypton needs to be handled with care, since it can explode on contact with methane, hydrogen
or nitrogen.
• Krypton is one of the rarest gases in the Earth’s atmosphere. It makes up just 1 part per million by
volume. It is extracted by distillation of air that has been cooled until it is a liquid. But in stars in
abundant quantity like the sun.
Uses of Krypton
• The element can make an excellent substitute for neon in certain conditions since it emits a weaker glow but still has low temperature and long life
to its credit.
• When electrons are shot at krypton, it just bounces the electrons back and we see that as light. That is why when electrons interact with krypton atoms inside the
glass, they emit visible light.
• Besides, when krypton is under high pressure and low temperature and is exposed to an electric current, krypton emits a reddish-orange light and
shines with a smokey-white light, much like a fluorescent light bulb does. So, if you see any LED display boards with blue or white lettering on
them, they are probably using krypton gas for emitting light instead of regular LEDs that emit light when electricity passes through semiconductor
material. Therefore, that appears to be its glow in the dark and it is used in making sings which are fluoresecent and for lighting up stars in
theaters, singboards, airports etc.
• Though finding its use in creating beautiful lighting effects in movies, Krypton was also once used as an anesthetic. The famous German chemist
Victor Grignard discovered this property of krypton when he accidentally inhaled some of the gas while working on the synthesis of organic
magnesium compounds.
• Krypton is used commercially as a filling gas for energy-saving fluorescent lights. It is also used in some flash lamps used for high-speed
photography. the ultra-sensitive cameras used in space missions to study distant stars and galaxies are filled with krypton gas for cooling the image
sensors to cryogenic temperatures.
• Unlike the lighter gases in its group, it is reactive enough to form some chemical compounds. For example, krypton will react with fluorine to form
krypton fluoride. Krypton fluoride is used in some lasers.
• Radioactive krypton was used during the Cold War to estimate Soviet nuclear production. The gas is a product of all nuclear reactors, so the
Russian share was found by subtracting the amount that came from Western reactors from the total in the air.
• In medical, it is used to detect abnormal heart openings.
Health effects

• Krypton is a colorless, odorless gas. It is shipped as a liquid under its

own vapor pressure. Contact with the liquid may cause frostbite to
unprotected skin.
• krypton is non-toxic, but breathing too much of it can cause loss of
consciousness because of asphyxia since the oxygen levels drop
quickly when krypton is released into regular air. Inhalation in
excessive concentrations can result in dizziness, nausea, vomiting, loss
of consciousness, and death.
Interesting facts about Krypton
• Krypton 85 can be used to detect secret nuclear weapons research and production facilities.
• Krypton is used in the airport to flash airport runways or used as a approach lights. (produce
brighter light and fast response to the electric current)
• Krypton is one of the rarest gases.
• Krypton is used to detect abnormal heat openings.
• Krypton-83 is used in MRI of the respiratory system.
• Krypton is believed to be a non-toxic asphyxia-inducing agent. (asphyxia = lack of oxygen
suffocation) krypton displaces breathable air
• Krypton-86 was used to define a meter.
• Krypton-fluorine lasers produce pluses with 500 times the power of the entire U.S electrical grid.
• Krypton is used to fill in multi-pane windows to conserve the energy. (kr reduces the heat transfer)
• Concentration of kr-85 is 30% higher at the north pole than they are at south pole.
Funny facts about Krypton
• Helium, argon, neon, krypton, and helium walk into a LGBT bar. The bar keeper says: ‘’
Get out of here, we don’t want far right elements in here’’.
• What does kryptonite mean in love?
• (noun) someone you love but he or she always ignores your affection and thus breaks your heart.
• What is Superman’s krypton name?
• Kal-El. Superman was born on the doomed planet Krypton to scientists Jor-El and Lara. He was
given the Kryptonian name Kal-El at birth.
• Krypton is superman’s home planet.
• Superman is the most famous fictional character that uses kryptonite against evil forces.
It has been believed that kryptonite could separate Superman from his powers; however,
it's only an assumption since no such material has ever been actually found on earth.