What is nitrogen?
Nitrogen in the periodic table
Nitrogen is an essential element of group 15 of the periodic table with the symbol N and atomic number 7. It is an odorless, tasteless, and colorless gas at room temperature and pressure that lies with the p-block element in the periodic table.
By volume, nitrogen makes up 78% of the air and is obtained by the distillation of liquid air. It is found in the molecules of all living things and hence it is also present in coal and other fossil fuels.
Properties
The 7 electrons of colorless, orderless nitrogen have distributed to give the electronic configuration of 1s2 2s2 2p3. Therefore, it has five valence electrons to show an oxidation state of 3 or 5. It forms negatively charged anions that covalently bond with other nonmetals.
- Relative atomic mass: 14.007
- State at 20°C: Gas
- Melting point: −210.0 °C, 63.2 K
- Boiling point: −195.795 °C, 77.355 K
- Density (g/cm3): 0.001145
- CAS number: 7727–37–9
- Chem Spider ID: 20473555
The properties of nitrogen may be compared to its horizontal neighbors' carbon and oxygen as well as its vertical neighbors' phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, and bismuth.
Facts about nitrogen
- The odorless, tasteless, and colorless nitrogen gas makes up 78.1% of the volume of the Earth’s air.
- It was named azote by the French chemist Antoine Laurent Lavoisier which means “without life”. The name became nitrogen, which derives from the Greek word nitron means “native soda” and genes means “forming”. The credit for the nitrogen discovery was given to Daniel Rutherford. He could be separated it from the air in 1772.
- Nitrogenous compounds are found in almost all foods, fertilizers, poisons, and explosives. Your body contains 3% nitrogen by weight and found nitrogenous compounds in almost all foods, fertilizers, poisons, and explosives.
- Nitrogen has five valence electrons to show an oxidation state of 3 or 5. It forms negatively charged anions that covalently bond with other nonmetals.
- The triple bond nitrogen forms with another nitrogen atom are extremely strong and release considerable energy when broken the chemical bond.
- It is part of many important chemical compounds such as nitrous oxide, nitroglycerin, nitric acid, and ammonia.
- Nitrogen gas is a relatively inert and the most common uncombined (pure) element on Earth.
- The bacteria present in the soil can ‘fix’ nitrogen into a form that plants and animals can use to make amino acids and proteins.
- Like other nonmetals, it is a poor conductor of heat and electricity.
- Liquid nitrogen is a cryogenic fluid that capable of freezing skin on contact.
- Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, is the only moon in the solar system that contains 98% nitrogen in its atmosphere.
- Nitrogen gas is used for making a nonflammable protective atmosphere.
- The liquid form of the element is used to remove warts, computer coolant, and cryogenics applications.
- The nitrogen cycle describes the movement of this element from the air, into the biosphere and organic compounds.
Uses of nitrogen
- By volume, nitrogen makes up 78% of the air and is obtained by the distillation of liquid air. It is found in the molecules of all living things and hence it is also present in coal and other fossil fuels.
- Nitrogen is an important element in the chemical industry for making fertilizers, nitric acid, nylon, dyes, and explosives.
- To make several nitrogenous products, N2 must first be reacted with hydrogen to produce ammonia. It can be done by the Haber process. This way we make 150 million tonnes of ammonia every year.
- It is used to make an unreactive atmosphere. This unreactive atmosphere is used to preserve foods and the electronics industry during the production of transistors and diodes.
- A large amount of nitrogen can be used in the steel industry for annealing. Annealing is a heat treatment process that makes the steel easier to work.
- Liquid nitrogen is a good refrigerant that is used for storing sperm, eggs, and other cells for medical research and reproductive technology.
References
https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/7/nitrogen
https://www.priyamstudycentre.com/2020/11/nitrogen.html
