Xenon is a trace element in the earth’s atmosphere. A trace element is an element whose presence in the atmosphere is negligible. Xenon is a very rare gas on our planet.
Xenon was discovered in 1898 by William Ramsay, a Scottish chemist, and Morris Travers, an English scientist, who had discovered krypton and neon in the previous years. All three elements were isolated in similar fashion. The scientists extracted them by evaporating liquid air, and studying what remained in it.
Although the gas is not very abundant in the earth’s atmosphere, the amount of xenon is exceptionally high in other planets, especially Jupiter. Jupiter has almost three times more of xenon than the Sun. The element is found in Mars’ atmosphere at about 0.08 parts per million.
Xenon emits a blue glow when charged by electricity. Therefore, the element is used for very powerful flash lighting, lights simulating sunbeams, fog lights, road signs, and germ-killing food lamps. Xenon is vital to space vehicles as the element is used to power their engines.
Although xenon is not toxic on its own, its compounds can be highly toxic. The atomic number of xenon is 54 and it is represented as Xe.
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