Molecular Formula

                Ar

Appearance and Properties

                Argon has approximately the same solubility in water as oxygen and is 2.5 times more soluble in water than nitrogen. Argon is colorless, odorless, nonflammable and nontoxic as a solid, liquid or gas. Argon is chemically inert under most conditions and forms no confirmed stable compounds at room temperature.

Uses

    Argon has several desirable properties:

            Argon is a chemically inert gas.

            Argon is the cheapest alternative when nitrogen is not sufficiently inert.

            Argon has low thermal conductivity.

            Argon has electronic properties (ionization and/or the emission spectrum) desirable for some applications.

    Other noble gases would be equally suitable for most of these applications, but argon is by far the cheapest. Argon is inexpensive, since it occurs naturally in air and is readily obtained as a byproduct of cryogenic air separation in the production of liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen: the primary constituents of air are used on a large industrial scale.