Radon
Radon is an element that is on the periodic table of elements. It is a
member of
the family called the noble gases, which is group number 18. Radon
is a gas. It
is a gas at 298 k. it is the heaviest known mononuclear gas at
that temperature.
Radon is also colorless. When it is cooled below the
freezing point, radon
exhibits a brilliant phosphorescence, which becomes
yellow as the temperature is
lowered. At the temperature of liquid air it is
sort of an orangish-red. The
noble gases can be found on the very right side
of the periodic table of
elements. Radon has been around for quite some time.
Radon comes from the
element radium, which is derived from the element
uranium. After radium has been
1,620 days old, radon forms 3.8 days
afterwards. Radon is most often produced by
the decay of radium in the crust
of the earth. Radon was first discovered by a
man named Fredrich Ernst Dorn.
Mr. Dorn discovered this element around 1898. At
first radon was not called
radon, it was called niton. Niton coming from the
Latin word nitens,
meaning shining. It was only called radon up until about
1923. Now, lets
talk about the properties that radon has. It is element number
86 on the
periodic table of elements. This means that is has 86 protons, and
also 86
electrons in a neutral state. The atomic mass of radon is 222.0176. now
if
you take the atomic mass, and round it to the nearest whole number,
and
subtract the atomic number, then you have the number of neutrons in
radon, which
is 136. The density of radon at 293 degrees Kelvin is .00973
g/cm cubed. Radon
has a boiling point of 211.4 degrees Kelvin. It is a
nonmetal, but rather a gas.
The melting point, which is different from
the boiling point, is 202 degrees
Kelvin. To my knowledge, there is no
data on the oxidation numbers for the
element radon. Also, I was unable to
find any information on any major
compounds. I guess radon isnt really all
that popular. Oh well. Now, some things
about radon, I bet you did not know.
Radon is quite dangerous. It is mainly
hazardous if you inhale it. Not only
radon it dangerous, but also its decay
products. Which are collected on dust
in the air. Radon and its decays form in
the air. When radon decays in the
earths crust, they rise. This poses as a
problem, because over the earths
crust, sometimes, is housing, or businesses.
Since radon is hazardous man
has invented the radon alarm. This alarm can fit on
the ceiling anywhere.
This alarm detects radon, which without being detected can
cause major
problems. There are however some uses for radon. Radon is used in
hospitals
for treating some types of cancers. Another major use for radon is
in
earthquake detecting. Radon can detect earthquakes, go figure, all though
im not
too sure as to how this process is carried out, but apparently it
works. It also
has the occasional therapeutic uses. Some interesting things
that I found about
radon are the fact that there was absolutely no
information on its oxidation
numbers, or its major compounds. Another thing
is that it can predict
earthquakes. Now I found that to be a bit odd. I
thought to my self, now how can
a gas, predict an earthquake? Oh well, I
guess its for the better that I did not
know.