18 Facts About Nitrogen

1.

Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7.

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2.

Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens.

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3.

Nitrogen occurs in all organisms, primarily in amino acids, in the nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) and in the energy transfer molecule adenosine triphosphate.

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4.

Nitrogen is a constituent of every major pharmacological drug class, including antibiotics.

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5.

Nitrogen compounds have a very long history, ammonium chloride having been known to Herodotus.

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6.

Nitrogen was studied at about the same time by Carl Wilhelm Scheele, Henry Cavendish, and Joseph Priestley, who referred to it as burnt air or phlogisticated air.

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7.

Nitrogen has two stable isotopes: N and N The first is much more common, making up 99.

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8.

Nitrogen trifluoride is a colourless and odourless gas that is thermodynamically stable, and most readily produced by the electrolysis of molten ammonium fluoride dissolved in anhydrous hydrogen fluoride.

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9.

Nitrogen trichloride is a dense, volatile, and explosive liquid whose physical properties are similar to those of carbon tetrachloride, although one difference is that NCl3 is easily hydrolysed by water while CCl4 is not.

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10.

Nitrogen triiodide is still more unstable and was only prepared in 1990.

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11.

Nitrogen is one of the most important elements in organic chemistry.

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12.

Nitrogen is the most common pure element in the earth, making up 78.

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13.

Nitrogen gas is an industrial gas produced by the fractional distillation of liquid air, or by mechanical means using gaseous air.

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14.

Nitrogen is commonly used during sample preparation in chemical analysis.

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15.

Nitrogen can be used as a replacement, or in combination with, carbon dioxide to pressurise kegs of some beers, particularly stouts and British ales, due to the smaller bubbles it produces, which makes the dispensed beer smoother and headier.

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16.

Nitrogen tanks are replacing carbon dioxide as the main power source for paintball guns.

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17.

Nitrogen must be kept at higher pressure than CO2, making N2 tanks heavier and more expensive.

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18.

Nitrogen gas, formed from the decomposition of sodium azide, is used for the inflation of airbags.

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