Atomic Symbol: Ar
Atomic Number: 18
Atomic Weight: 39.984
Isotopes and Abundances: 40Ar (99.6%), 38Ar (0.06%), and 36Ar (0.34%)
1 Atm Melting Point: 83.95 K
1 Atm Boiling Point: 87.29 K
Common Valences: 0
First Ionization Potential: 1520.6 kJ mol−1
Chondritic (CI) Abundance: ~10−6 mol g−1 (~93 ppm by mass)
Silicate Earth Abundance: ~10−12 mol 36Ar g−1 (parts per trillion range)
Crustal Abundance: <10−11 mol 36Ar g−1
Seawater Abundance: ~1–2 × 10−8 mol 36Ar g−1
Properties
Argon is the most abundant noble gas and accounts for 0.934 volume % of dry air. Argon has a calculated atomic radius of 0.71 Å and a van der Waals radius of 1.88 Å. Argon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, nontoxic gas at room temperature, and like the other noble gases in group 18 of the periodic table, Ar usually has a full valence shell of electrons and does not form chemical bonds. Chemical inertness and volatility are defining features of group 18 gases which...
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References
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Kendrick, M.A. (2017). Argon. In: White, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geochemistry. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39193-9_208-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39193-9_208-3
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