12 Interesting Facts about Nitrogen Gas: Non Metal Element Atomic Number 7

1 The earth’s atmosphere comprises only 21% oxygen. Most of the air we breathe is in fact nitrogen – 78% of it. Other gases can be found in trace amounts which are argon, carbon dioxide, neon, helium, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone. Water vapor accounts for on average, 0.25% of our atmosphere.

                                                                 

2 Nitrogen, is the fifth most abundant element of our universe, yet takes up over two-thirds of earth’s atmosphere because of the early abundance of volcanic eruptions over millions of years. Without volcanoes, life on earth would not be possible. By contrast, only 2.6% of lifeless Mars’ atmosphere is nitrogen.

3 Rust and decay through exposure to the air is attributed to oxygen. If our atmosphere comprised only of nitrogen, metal will not oxidize and food can be preserved for many years. Nitrogen is often injected into food cans to preserve food.

Hydrogen Gas Facts

4 Nitrogen’s Vital Statistics

Atomic number: 7

Atomic weight: 14.00672

State: colorless gas

Category: non-metal

Melting point: -210°C (-346°F)

Boiling point: -196°C (-320°F)

5 Nitrogen-based compounds such as nitroglycerine are used for explosives because the nitrogen aspect wants to become gas again, but at such a rapid rate, it ‘explodes’ into the atmosphere. Enormous amounts of heat are released as it does so.

6 Alfred Nobel, from which the prize is named invented dynamite in 1866 by blending nitroglycerine with kieselguhr (a form of sedimentary rock) to create a safer, more controlled explosion that can be used in the mining industry. This saved thousands of lives.  Profits earned from his invention funds the Nobel Prize even to this day. Interestingly, kieselguhr is also used in toothpaste and in cat litter trays.

Nitrogen Symbol

Nitrogen Cycle Simplified

7 Nitrogen forms a vital part of fertilizer. In 1909, Fritz Haber, a German chemist conceived a way of making ammonium nitrate by combining nitrogen with hydrogen to produce ammonia. Ammonium nitrate is responsible for doubling crop yields worldwide. The process is known as the Haber process.

8 Plants absorb oxygen from the air, but cannot absorb nitrogen in this way. Instead, nitrogen is taken up via the roots from the soil to build proteins in the plant. Plants are eaten by animals to produce animal protein. Waste food returns the nitrogen to the soil in the form of ammonia which feeds the plant again. Microorganisms and bacteria assists in the breakdown of dead matter to release nitrogen. This cycle is known as the nitrogen cycle and is essential to life.

Odd Facts about Nitrogen

9 Laughing gas consists of nitrous oxide, also in anesthesia and gas-and-air as pain relief for women in labor. In fact, nitrogen can be found in all main drugs, from antibiotics to painkillers. It is also found in every cell of every living organism, forming a main component of DNA. Indeed, the human body consists of 3% nitrogen, the fourth most common element after carbon, oxygen and hydrogen.

10 Airbags that save thousands of lives in car accidents involves the use of a nitrogen based gas known as azine. The bag is pumped with the gas within a 25000^th of a second, following an electrical impulse.

11 Liquid nitrogen is the ideal coolant for transplant organs, cryogenics, food preservation, fire retardants and ‘freezing off’ warts. This is because liquid nitrogen can be transported easily without pressurization.

12 Discovered by the Scottish physician Daniel Rutherford in 1772, the name ‘nitrogen’ comes from a combination of the Greek words ‘nitre, the old word for potassium nitrate (the main ingredient for gunpowder) and ‘genes’ meaning ‘forming.