Who Discovered Xenon
Xenon is a colorless gas that occurs in trace amounts in the Earth’s atmosphere. But who discovered xenon? This post will answer that question and then tell you a few uses of xenon.
Who Discovered Xenon?
Xenon was discovered by chemists William Ramsay and Morris Travers on July 12, 1898. These two chemists also discovered krypton and neon. They isolated krypton by evaporating liquid air and analyzing the residue which contained xenon. Ramsay suggested the name xenon from a Greek word meaning ‘stranger’, ‘guest’ or ‘foreigner’.
Uses of Xenon
- Xenon flash lamps are used in camera flashes and strobe lights.
- Xenon can be used in lasers. Lasers work even better when they combine xenon and helium.
- Xenon makes a fantastic anesthetic. However, it is more expensive than many other anesthetics.
- Radioactive gamma emissions, given off by the radioactive decay of xenon-133, can be used to produce images of the heart, lung and brain.
- Xenon is often used as a fuel in spacecraft.
- Xenon is used in bubble chambers. These are vessels built to detect electrically charged particles.
Other Great Discoveries: