Krypton

Krypton is a stable noble gas. It has an atomic number of 36. The name krypton comes from the Greek word kryptos meaning hidden. It is used in fluorescent lamps, flashbulbs, and as a wavelength standard. The metre used to be defined as 1,650,763.73 wavelengths in a vacuum of krypton gas.[1]

The Simple English Wiktionary has a definition for: krypton.
A discharge tube filled with Krypton

Chemistry

Because it is a gas, it does not react with many elements. It is clear and has no taste or smell.[2] The atmosphere is only about one millionth part krypton.[2] Krypton has very few compounds.

History

Krypton was found by Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers in Great Britain in 1898.[3] Ramsay was given the 1904 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on noble gases.[4] It was a difficult gas to discover; Ramsay suspected it existed but only found it by removing other gases.[5] This is why he gave it the name Krypton.[5] There is no mineral called Kryptonite or planet called Krypton, which both feature in the Superman comics by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.[5] The fictional planet is probably better known than the real chemical element called Krypton.[5]

References
  1. "WebElements Periodic Table of the Elements". webelements.com. 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  2. "Krypton". Academic Press Dictionary of Science and Technology. 2006. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  3. Friend, John Newton (1914). A text-book of inorganic chemistry, Volume 1. Griffin & Company. p. 346. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  4. James, Laylin K. (1993). Nobel laureates in chemistry, 1901–1992. Chemical Heritage Foundation. p. 23. ISBN 0841226903. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  5. Alfred, Randy (30 May 2008). "May 30, 1898: Krypton Discovered, Decades Before Superman Arrives". wired.com. Retrieved 29 June 2011.


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