Xenon is a chemical element wi the seembol Xe an atomic nummer 54. It is a colourless, hivy, odorless noble gas, that occurs in the Yird's atmosphere in trace amoonts.[8] Altho generally unreactive, xenon can unnergo a few chemical reactions sic as the furmation o xenon hexafluoroplatinate, the first noble gas compound tae be synthesized.[9][10][11]
Xenon is uised in flash lamps[12] an arc lamps,[13] an as a general anesthetic.[14] The first excimer laser design uised a xenon dimer molecule (Xe2) as the lasin medium,[15] an the earliest laser designs uised xenon flash lamps as pumps.[16] Xenon is uised tae sairch for hypothetical waikly interactin massive pairticles[17] an as the propellant for ion thrusters in spacecraft.[18] an for the three ion propulsion engines on NASA's Dawn Spacecraft.[19]
Naiturally occurrin xenon consists o aicht stable isotopes. Mair nor 40 unstable xenon isotopes unnergae radioactive decay, an the isotope ratios o xenon are an important tuil for studyin the early history o the Solar Seestem.[20] Radioactive xenon-135 is produced bi beta decay frae iodine-135 (a product o nuclear fission), an is the maist signeeficant (an unwantit) neutron absorber in nuclear reactors.[21]
↑Staff (2007). "Xenon". Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia (6th ed.). Columbia University Press. Retrieved 23 October 2007.
↑Husted, Robert; Boorman, Mollie (15 December 2003). "Xenon". Los Alamos National Laboratory, Chemical Division. Retrieved 26 September 2007.
↑Rabinovich, Viktor Abramovich; Vasserman, A. A.; Nedostup, V. I.; Veksler, L. S. (1988). Thermophysical properties of neon, argon, krypton, and xenon (English-language ed.). Washington, DC: Hemisphere Publishing Corp. ISBN0-89116-675-0. Retrieved 2 Apryle 2009.—National Standard Reference Data Service of the USSR. Volume 10.
↑Freemantel, Michael (25 August 2003). "Chemistry at its Most Beautiful"(PDF). Chemical & Engineering News. Retrieved 13 September 2007.
↑Sanders, Robert D.; Ma, Daqing; Maze, Mervyn (2005). "Xenon: elemental anaesthesia in clinical practice". British Medical Bulletin. 71 (1): 115–35. doi:10.1093/bmb/ldh034. PMID 15728132.
↑Basov, N. G.; Danilychev, V. A.; Popov, Yu. M. (1971). "Stimulated Emission in the Vacuum Ultraviolet Region". Soviet Journal of Quantum Electronics. 1 (1): 18–22. Bibcode:1971QuEle...1...18B. doi:10.1070/QE1971v001n01ABEH003011.