[Home]Noble gas

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A noble gas is a chemical element in group VIIIA of the periodic table; specifically helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon and radon.

These elements all have full outer electron shells, and so do not form chemical compounds easily. As the atoms get larger down the series, they become (slightly) more reactive, and xenon has been induced to form a number of compounds with fluorine. Radon has reacted with fluorine to form radon fluoride (RnF) and the compound glows with a yellow light in the solid state.

The noble gases are sometimes referred to as the inert gases, but this term is not strictly accurate now that some have been shown to take part in chemical reactions.


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Last edited November 19, 2001 8:45 am by Derek Ross (diff)
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