Oxygen - General Properties, Where Oxygen Comes From, How We Use Oxygen, Chemistry And Compounds
element atomic atoms french
Oxygen is a non-metallic element of atomic number 8. Its symbol is O, the atomic weight is 15.9994, the specific gravity is 1.10535 (compared to air), the melting point is -361°F (-218.4°C), and the boiling point is -297.4°F (-183°C).
Oxygen is a non-metal in group 16 of the periodic table. Its three stable isotopes have atomic weights of 16, 17, and 18. The first is by far the most abundant, constituting 99.763% of all oxygen atoms occurring in nature. Oxygen-17 makes up an additional 0.037%, and oxygen-18, 0.200% of all oxygen atoms. A number of radioactive isotopes of the element have also been prepared, the most widely used commercially being oxygen-15, which decays by the emission of a positron with a half life of 122 seconds.
Oxygen was discovered independently by the Swedish chemist Carl Scheele and the English chemist Joseph Priestley in the period 1773-1774. The element was given its name by the French chemist Antoine Laurent Lavoisier in 1779. Its name comes from the French word for "acid-former," reflecting Lavoisier's incorrect belief that all acids contain oxygen.
Additional Topics
Oxygen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is slightly soluble (1.2 cubic in [3.08 cubic cm] per 39.4 cu in [100 cubic cm] of water) at room temperature. It is considerably more soluble in some organic solvents, such as ethyl alcohol, carbon tetrachloride, and benzene. Oxygen is less soluble in sea water than in pure water, although still soluble enough to support the survival of marine o…
Oxygen is the most abundant element on the Earth's surface. It makes up 20.948% of the atmosphere by volume and 45.5% of the lithosphere by weight. It occurs both as the free element (in the atmosphere) and in the combined form (in the lithosphere and hydrosphere). Its most common and best known compound is probably water. Water contains 88.9% oxygen, by weight. In the lithosphere, oxygen o…
Oxygen has so many commercial, industrial, and other uses that it consistently ranks among the top five chemicals in volume of production in the United States. In 1988, for example, 37 billion lb (16.8 billion kg) of the element were manufactured in the United States. The uses to which oxygen is put can be classified into four major categories: metallurgy, rocketry, chemical synthesis, and medicin…
Oxygen is one of the most active of all chemical elements. The oxygen-oxygen bond in diatomic oxygen is relatively strong, but once broken, the atomic oxygen formed (O) reacts readily with the vast majority of elements. The noble gases and noble metals are the most important exceptions, although oxy compounds of most of these elements are also known and can be prepared by indirect methods. Perhaps…
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User Comments
about 2 years ago
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what are the properties and uses for phosphorus???
7 months ago
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10 months ago
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11 months ago
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11 months ago
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about 1 year ago
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what are the chemical / acid / (?) properties of Oxygen? or is it a pure substance
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