Nitrogen - Element information, properties and uses (2024)

Transcript :

Chemistry in its element: nitrogen

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You're listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by Chemistry World, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

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Chris Smith

Hello! This week, we're blowing up airbags, asphyxiating animals and getting to the bottom of gunpowder because Cambridge chemist Peter Wothers has been probing the history of nitrogen.

Peter Wothers

Nitrogen gas makes up about 80% of the air we breathe. It's by far the most abundant element in its group in the periodic table and yet it is the last member of its family to be discovered. The other elements in its group, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony and bismuth, had all been discovered, used and abused at least 100 years before nitrogen was known about. It wasn't really until the 18th Century that people focussed their attention on the chemistry of the air and the preparation properties of different gases. We can only really make sense of the discovery of nitrogen by also noting the discovery of some of these other gases.

Robert Boyle noted in 1670 that when acid was added to iron filings, the mixture grew very hot and belched up copious and stinking fumes. So inflammable it was that upon the approach of a lighted candle to it, it would readily enough take fire and burn with a bluish and somewhat greenish flame. Hydrogen was more carefully prepared and collected by the brilliant but reclusive millionaire scientist Henry Cavendish about a 100 years later. Cavendish called the gas inflammable air from the metals in recognition of this most striking property. He also studied the gas we know call carbon dioxide, which had first been prepared by the Scottish chemist, Joseph Black in the 1750s. Black called carbon dioxide fixed air, since it was thought to be locked up or fixed in certain minerals such as limestone. It could be released from its stony prison by the action of heat or acids.

Carbon dioxide was also known by the name mephitic air the word mephitic meaning noxious or poisonous. This name obviously came from its property of destroying life, since it rapidly suffocates any animals immersed in it. This is where the confusion with nitrogen gas begins, since pure nitrogen gas is also suffocating to animals. If the oxygen in an enclosed quantity of air is used up, either by burning a candle in it or by confining an animal, most of the oxygen is converted to carbon dioxide gas which mixes with the nitrogen gas present in the air. This noxious mixture no longer supports life and so was called mephitic.

The crucial experiment in the discovery of nitrogen was when it was realized that there are at least two different kinds of suffocating gases in this mephitic air. This was done by passing the mixture of gases through a solution of alkali, which absorbed the carbon dioxide but left behind the nitrogen gas. Cavendish prepared nitrogen gas by this means. He passed air back and forth over heated charcoal which converted the oxygen in the air to carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide was then dissolved in alkali leaving behind the inert nitrogen gas, which he correctly observed was slightly less dense than common air. Unfortunately, Cavendish didn't publish his findings. He just communicated them in a letter to fellow scientist, Joseph Priestley, one of the discoverers of oxygen gas. Consequently, the discovery of nitrogen is usually accredited to one of Joseph Black's students, the Scottish scientist, Daniel Rutherford, who's also the uncle of the novelist and poet, Sir Walter Scott. Rutherford published his findings, which was similar to those of Cavendish in his doctoral thesis entitled, "An Inaugural Dissertation on the Air called Fixed or Mephitic" in 1772.

So what about the name, nitrogen? In the late 1780s, chemical nomenclature underwent a major revolution under the guidance of the French chemist, Antoine Lavoisier. It was he and his colleagues, who suggested many of the names we still use today including the word hydrogen, which comes from the Greek meaning water former and oxygen from the Greek for acid producer, since Lavoisier mistakenly thought that oxygen was the key component of all acids. However, in his list of the then known elements, Lavoisier included the term azote or azotic gas for what we now call nitrogen. This again stems from Greek words, this time meaning the absence of life, once again focussing on its mephitic quality. It was not long before it was pointed out that there are many mephitic gases, in fact no gas other than oxygen can support life. The name nitrogen was therefore proposed from the observation, again first made by Cavendish that if the gases sparked with oxygen, and then the resulting nitrogen dioxide gases passed through alkali, nitre, otherwise known as saltpetre or potassium nitrate is formed. The word nitrogen therefore means nitre former. The derivatives of the word, azote still survive today. The compound used to explosively fill car air bags with gas is sodium azide, a compound of just sodium and nitrogen. When triggered this compound explosively decomposes freeing the nitrogen gas, which inflates the bags. Far from destroying life, this azotic compound has been responsible for saving thousands.

Chris Smith

Cambridge University's Peter Wothers telling the story of the discovery of nitrogen. Next time on Chemistry in its element, how chemists like Mendeleev got to grips with both the known and the unknown.

Mark Peplow

While other scientists had tried to create ways of ordering the known elements, Mendeleev created the system that could predict the existence of elements, not yet discovered. When he presented the table to the world in 1869, it contained four prominent gaps. One of these was just below manganese and Mendeleev predicted that element with atomic weight 43 would be found to fill that gap, but it was not until 1937 that a group of Italian scientists finally found the missing element, which they named technetium.

Chris Smith

And you can hear Mark Peplow telling technetium's tale in next week's edition of Chemistry in its element. I'm Chris Smith, thank you for listening. See you next time.

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Chemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced bythenakedscientists.com. There's more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website atchemistryworld.org/elements.

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Nitrogen
    - Element information, properties and uses (2024)

FAQs

Nitrogen - Element information, properties and uses? ›

Nitrogen appears as a colorless odorless gas. Noncombustible and nontoxic. Makes up the major portion of the atmosphere, but will not support life by itself. Used in food processing, in purging air conditioning and refrigeration systems, and in pressurizing aircraft tires.

What are the uses and properties of nitrogen? ›

Nitrogen is important for plant growth and can be 'fixed' by lightning or added to soils in fertilisers. A colourless, odourless gas. Nitrogen is important to the chemical industry. It is used to make fertilisers, nitric acid, nylon, dyes and explosives.

What are 5 facts about the element nitrogen? ›

Fun Facts
  • Nitrogen is odorless, tasteless, and colorless.
  • Nitrogen makes up more than half of the atmosphere's gas.
  • Liquid Nitrogen is non-toxic.
  • Nitrogen makes up three percent of your body weight.
  • Liquid Nitrogen melts at -210 degrees Celcius or −346 F.

What are 10 physical properties of nitrogen? ›

Physical Properties of Nitrogen
  • Molecular weight: 14.01 g/mol.
  • Boiling point: -195.795°C.
  • Melting point: -210.0°C.
  • Density: 1.251 g/L.
  • Appearance: colorless gas, liquid or solid.

What are 5 uses for nitrogen? ›

Nitrogen gas applications
  • Food industry. Nitrogen gas is also used to provide an unreactive atmosphere. ...
  • Light bulbs industry. ...
  • Fire suppression systems. ...
  • Stainless steel manufacturing. ...
  • Tire filling systems. ...
  • Aircraft fuel systems. ...
  • Chemical analysis and chemical industry. ...
  • Pressurised beer kegs.

What is nitrogen in a short answer? ›

nitrogen (N), nonmetallic element of Group 15 [Va] of the periodic table. It is a colourless, odourless, tasteless gas that is the most plentiful element in Earth's atmosphere and is a constituent of all living matter.

What is nitrogen most useful for? ›

Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for the production of amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids, etc., and stone fruit trees require an adequate annual supply for proper growth and productivity.

Is nitrogen toxic to humans? ›

The health effects described in this Fact Sheet may occur at concentrations greater than 80%. * Contact with liquefied Nitrogen can cause frostbite. * Exposure to very high levels of pure Nitrogen can cause you to feel dizzy and lightheaded, and replaces Oxygen in the air causing loss of consciousness and death.

What is nitrogen info for kids? ›

Chemistry of Nitrogen

It is a colorless gas at standard temperature and has an atomic weight of 14.0067. It liquefies at –195.8 °C (–320.4 °F) and freezes at –209.9 °C (–345.8 °F). The valence of nitrogen ranges from one to five. These combinations are illustrated by its compounds with divalent oxygen.

Is nitrogen an important element for life? ›

The nitrogen cycle matters because nitrogen is an essential nutrient for sustaining life on Earth. Nitrogen is a core component of amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins, and of nucleic acids, which are the building blocks of genetic material (RNA and DNA).

What are some unique properties of nitrogen? ›

Nitrogen is a common normally colourless, odourless, tasteless and mostly diatomic non-metal gas. It has five electrons in its outer shell, so it is trivalent in most compounds.

What is nitrogen made of? ›

Molecular nitrogen (N2) – two nitrogen atoms tightly bound together – is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and inert gas at normal temperatures and pressures. Four representations chemists use for nitrogen molecules.

What is pure nitrogen used for? ›

Light Bulb Production – In incandescent light bulbs, nitrogen gas is often used as a cheaper alternative to argon. Chemical Plants – Nitrogen gas is used to displace oxygen and prevent explosions in highly dangerous atmospheres, such as chemical plants and manufacturing facilities./li>

Is nitrogen used in everyday life? ›

It is used in the CPUs of computers in order to prevent them from heating up. It is widely used in the fire suppression systems for I.T. equipment. Nitrogen is also used in X-ray detectors.

Why is nitrogen important to the human body? ›

Our genes are made up of nucleic acid DNA, and RNA is involved in protein synthesis, which requires nitrogen. We all know that we wouldn't be alive if it weren't for DNA. The human body needs nitrogen for healthy food digestion and growth. It plays a crucial role in the development of the human fetus.

Is nitrogen flammable? ›

Nitrogen gas is a colorless, odorless, and non-toxic gas. It is neither flammable nor explosive. On the contrary, nitrogen is a fire suppressant that helps regulate oxygen levels and extinguishes flames.

What are the properties of nitrogen for kids? ›

It is a colorless gas at standard temperature and has an atomic weight of 14.0067. It liquefies at –195.8 °C (–320.4 °F) and freezes at –209.9 °C (–345.8 °F). The valence of nitrogen ranges from one to five. These combinations are illustrated by its compounds with divalent oxygen.

What is nitrogen used for in the body? ›

Nitrogen is a main body component and is required for both tissue protein synthesis and the production of several nitrogenous compounds involved in a variety of functions (hormones, immune mediators, neurotransmitters, antioxidant defences, etc.)

What are the three functions of nitrogen? ›

Nitrogen Forms and Function
  • Nitrogen is an essential element of all amino acids. ...
  • Nitrogen is also a component of nucleic acids, which form the DNA of all living things and holds the genetic code.
  • Nitrogen is a component of chlorophyll, which is the site of carbohydrate formation (photosynthesis).

Why does nitrogen have its uses? ›

Nitrogen is widely used, mainly, due to the fact that it does not react when exposed to other gas, unlike oxygen which is very reactive. Due to its chemical composition, nitrogen atoms need more energy to be broken and react with other substances.

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