Argon
Argón (Ar, Z=18)
- Date
- 1894 · confidence high
- Place
- London, United Kingdom
- Credited to
- Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsay
- People
- 👤 Lord Rayleigh1842–1919👤 William Ramsay1852–1916
- Field
- Matter & energy
What was discovered
Rayleigh noticed that nitrogen from air was denser than chemically prepared nitrogen; together with Ramsay he isolated the inert residual gas, the first noble gas known.
Cavendish had noticed an inert residue of air in 1785 without identifying it.
What it led to
- The discovery of the entire noble gas group
- Inert atmospheres for welding and light bulbs
- The 1904 Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry
Built on
- Gas density measurements
- Cavendish had observed the residue in 1785
Made possible
- TIG/MIG welding
- Argon-filled incandescent bulb