What is application of argon gas?

What is application of argon gas? Everything you need to know.

Argon gas is a colorless, odorless, and inert element that belongs to the group of noble gases in the periodic table. It has many applications in various industries, such as:

- **Welding**: Argon is used as a shielding gas to protect the weld pool from atmospheric contamination, such as oxygen and nitrogen. It also helps to stabilize the electric arc and improve the quality of the weld. Argon is suitable for welding different types of metals, such as steel, aluminum, copper, and titanium.
- **Lighting**: Argon is used to fill some types of light bulbs, such as incandescent, fluorescent, and neon lights. It prevents the filament from burning out and enhances the brightness and color of the light. Argon also emits a lilac/violet glow when placed in an electric field.
- **Metal production**: Argon is used as a purging gas to remove impurities and gases from molten metals, such as aluminum, steel, and copper. It also prevents oxidation and nitriding of the metal surface during casting and stirring. Argon can also be used to create inert atmospheres for heat-treating metals.
- **3-D printing**: Argon is used as a shielding gas in some types of 3-D printing processes, such as selective laser melting (SLM) and direct metal laser sintering (DMLS). It protects the metal powder from oxidation and ensures a high-quality finish of the printed parts.
- **Dating**: Argon is used to determine the age of very old substances, such as rocks, fossils, and meteorites. This is based on the radioactive decay of potassium-40 into argon-40 over time. By measuring the ratio of these isotopes in a sample, scientists can estimate how long ago it was formed.

These are some of the major uses of argon gas in various fields. Argon is a versatile and valuable element that has many benefits for different applications.