LArge refrigeration units are used to cool atmospheric air to temperatures less than -100 degrees. The Nitrogen condenses and the air is then Oxygen and Argon and a few other impurities. Since these compounds all have different boiling points, they condense at different temperatures and this property makes it possible to seperate them. Argon and Nitrogen are commonly used inert gases.
2007-02-09 17:29:53
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answer #1
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answered by MrWiz 4
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An inert gas is a gas that does not react to the system that it is in. It can be used to keep other reactions from happening - a process called 'inerting'. But there is more to it than just that. In one system, a gas (e.g. nitrogen) is inert while for another system, it can react with something else in the system.
There are some gases that will not react to most (if not all) other elements/compounds. These are called noble gases which are by definition inactive or inert. They even have a special place on the periodic table. They are helium He, neon Ne(although this gas often gets excited and releases light - while not reactive, it certainly is not inactive), argon Ar, krypton Kr (no it is not reactive as the popularized 'kryptonite' that paralyses Superman), xenon Xe and radon Rn(but this decomposes and gives off radiation - hence the name). Of these, I consider He, Ar, Kr, and Xe to be 'inert'. I'm sure in special cases, even these will not be inert.
All of the elements have been produced in stars. To answer your question as to how are these produced by saying 'in stars', lacks something for me. I don't think that's your question. So I will answer with how they are purified - where they come from when you want to buy them.
He is removed from natural gas. It's cool in that you can get two products from a gas that comes out of the ground, one to heat your house and one to inflate a balloon.
Ar concentration is almost 1% by volume in dry air. This is typically produced by cryogenic purification. First the nitrogen is removed leaving an oxygen and argon mixture. These two like each other (boiling points are close) which makes them harder to separate, but still is done.
Kr and Xe are also found in air but at very low concentrations. They end up in the oxygen and argon mixture above. These last two are produced only on extremely large cryogenic air separation plants. It takes a lot of air to produce only a small amount of these gases.
2007-02-08 20:14:45
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answer #2
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answered by mbonvu 2
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Inert gases were created at the same time as the rest of the solar system, inside a star. Due to gravity, they were collected inside the earth, and now they bubble up slowly out of the earth through volcanoes. There are very small amounts of all the inert gases given off by volcanoes. These can be extracted from the atmosphere and concentrated. The quantities are very small: Helium, for example, was discovered on the sun by spectroscopic means before they ever found it on earth.
2007-02-08 04:10:59
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answer #3
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answered by Gnomon 6
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