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The noble gases are a chemical series. They are the elements in group 18 (old-style Group 0) of the periodic table; specifically helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon and radon.The term noble gas comes from the fact that, just like the common view of human nobility, these gases generally sit around not doing anything, and avoid reacting with 'common' elements. The noble gases were previously referred to as inert gases, but this term is not strictly accurate now that some have been shown to take part in chemical reactions. Another older term, was the name rare gas es, although in fact they form a considerable part (1 to 2 % by volume) of the Earth's atmosphere,.
Because of their unreactivity, the noble gases were not discovered until the existence of helium was hypothetically deduced from a spectrographic analysis of the sun, and later on proven when William Ramsay isolated it. The noble gases also have very weak inter-atomic forces of attraction, and consequently very low melting pointThe melting point of a solid is the temperature at which it changes state from solid to liquid. When considered as the temperature of the reverse change, it is referred to as the freezing point . For example, the melting point of the element mercury is 23s and boiling pointAlternate use: Boiling Point, English title of Kitano Takeshi's film 3-4X Jugatsu The boiling point of a substance is the temperature at which it can change state from a liquid to a gas throughout the bulk of the liquid. A liquid may change to a gas at tes -- this is why they are all gases under normal conditions, even those of them which have much heavier atoms than many normally solid elements.
These elements all have full s and p outer electron shells (i.e. 8 outer shell electrons), and so do not form chemical compounds easily. As the atomsFor alternative meanings see atom (disambiguation). An atom is a microscopic structure found in all ordinary matter around us. Atoms are composed of 3 types of subatomic particles: electrons, which have a negative charge; protons, which have a positive ch get larger down the series, they become (slightly) more reactive, and xenon has been induced to form a number of compounds with fluorineFluorine (from L. Fluere meaning "to flow"), is the chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol F and atomic number 9. It is a poisonous pale yellow, univalent gaseous halogen that is the most chemically reactive and electronegative of all. In 1962Events January January 1 Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand January 3 Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro January 4 New York City introduces a train that operates without a crew on-board January 8 Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is e, Neil BartlettNeil Bartlett (born September 15, 1932) is an English-born American chemist. He was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England and educated at King's College, Durham, England, where he received his doctorate. In 1958 he went to the University of British Columbi, while working at the University of British Columbia, reacted xenon with fluorine to produce XeF2, XeF4, and XeF6 compounds. Radon has reacted with fluorine to form radon fluoride, RnF, and the compound glows with a yellow light in the solid state. Additionally, krypton is able to react with fluorine to form KrF2, and short-lived excimers of Xe2 and noble gas halides such as XeCl can be made, which are used in excimer lasers.
In 2002, compounds were discovered where uranium forms molecules with argon, krypton, or xenon. This suggests that the noble gases may be able to form compounds with other metals too.
Also notice that there is a an empty space on the periodic table under Radon. This means that there could theoretically be another undiscovered noble gas, which has been temporarily named Ununoctium.
