Nitrogen is an element that is important to all life on Earth. It is abundant, useful, and very hard to detect. This fascinating compound is vitally important and used in all sorts of industrial processes. Here are a few fascinating facts about nitrogen.
It Is Abundant In The Earth’s Atmosphere
Nitrogen makes up 78 percent of the Earth’s gaseous atmosphere. This makes it the most abundant element in the air that we breathe. The atmosphere contains an estimated 4000 trillion tons of nitrogen – although the actual quantity is likely to fluctuate wildly due to pollution levels, plant life, and other factors. The reason for this abundance of nitrogen is thought to be tied to the very formation of our home planet. Scientists believe that the chunks of primordial rubble that came together to eventually form the Earth contained nitrogen. As the Earth developed, cracks and fissures – such as volcanoes – formed. These vents spewed out the nitrogen gas contained deep within the core of the planet. Volcanoes are still spewing out nitrogen to this day.
It Is Inert
Nitrogen is extremely inert. In chemistry, ‘inert’ refers to an element that is not generally reactive. Oxygen, for instance, is not inert because it reacts to many other elements. The inert nature of nitrogen makes it extremely safe to work with. The inert nature of nitrogen means that it is not able to be used by plants and animals in its pure form. Nitrogen must be ‘fixed’ in order to be used in the nourishment of plant life. Some forms of bacteria live symbiotically with plants, ‘fixing’ nitrogen in the soil so that it can be used by the plant. Bacteria accomplish nearly 90 percent of all the nitrogen-fixing on the planet – making them completely essential to life on Earth.
It Is Crucial In Industry
Nitrogen is an inert gas that is very resistant to combustion. This makes it very useful in many industrial contexts. In Mines, a nitrogen generator is used to saturate the air with an inert gas. This helps to prevent deadly explosions – once one of the most dangerous aspects of mining. In pharmaceuticals and food packaging, nitrogen is used to keep products from degrading. It is used to displace oxygen within the packaging. The inert nature of nitrogen gas also makes it useful to companies wanting to transport or store chemicals that would react to air that contains oxygen. A surprising amount of chemicals would be very dangerous if they were stored in an oxygen-rich environment.
It Is Hard To Detect
Human beings find it pretty hard to detect nitrogen without technological aids. Nitrogen is colorless, tasteless, and odorless. This may be one of the reasons why pioneering French chemist Antoine Laurent Lavoisier described the element as nitrogen azote – meaning ‘nitrogen without life’. The odorless, colorless and tasteless nature of nitrogen makes it very useful in the food packaging industry, where it can be added to preserve items without damaging their taste, smell, or appearance.
