What kind of substance is n2

Nitrogen resides in the chemical structure of almost all neurotransmitters and is a defining component of alkaloids, biological molecules produced as secondary metabolites by many organisms. The nitrogen cycle describes the movement of the element from the air into the biosphere and organic compounds and back into the atmosphere. Synthetically produced nitrates are key ingredients of industrial fertilizers and key pollutants causing the eutrophication of water systems.

Nitrogen gas is an industrial gas produced by the fractional distillation of liquid air or by mechanical means using gaseous air i. Commercial nitrogen is often a byproduct of air-processing for industrial concentration of oxygen for steelmaking and other purposes. When supplied compressed in cylinders, it is often called OFN oxygen-free nitrogen. In a chemical laboratory it is prepared by treating an aqueous solution of ammonium chloride with sodium nitrite, or through the decomposition of sodium azide:.

Nitrogen is a nonmetal with an electronegativity of 3. It has five electrons in its outer shell and is, therefore, trivalent in most compounds.

The triple bond in molecular nitrogen N 2 is one of the strongest known. The resulting difficulty of converting N 2 into other compounds, and the ease and associated high energy release of converting nitrogen compounds into elemental N 2 , have dominated the role of nitrogen in both nature and human economic activities. Molecular nitrogen 14 N 2 is largely transparent to infrared and visible radiation because it is a homonuclear molecule and, therefore, has no dipole moment to couple the electromagnetic radiation at these wavelengths.

Significant absorption occurs at extreme ultraviolet wavelengths, beginning at a wavelength of around nanometers. This is associated with electronic transitions in the molecule to states in which charge is not distributed evenly between nitrogen atoms. Nitrogen is also used in preparing samples for chemical analysis to concentrate and reduce the volume of liquid samples. Nitrogen is a common normally colourless, odourless, tasteless and mostly diatomic non-metal gas. It has five electrons in its outer shell, so it is trivalent in most compounds.

The greatest single commercial use of nitrogen is as a component in the manufacture of ammonia, subsequently used as fertilizer and to produce nitric acid.

Liquid nitrogen often referred to as LN 2 is used as a refrigerant for freezing and transporting food products, for the preservation of bodies and reproductive cells sperm and eggs , and for stable storage of biological samples.

Nitric acid salts include some important compounds, for example potassium nitrate, nitric acid, and ammonium nitrate. Nitrated organic compounds, such as nitro-glycerine and trinitrotoluene, are often explosives. Nitrogen constitutes 78 percent of Earth's atmosphere and is a constituent of all living tissues.

Nitrogen is an essential element for life, because it is a constituent of DNA and, as such, is part of the genetic code. Nitrogen molecules occur mainly in air. In water and soils nitrogen can be found in nitrates and nitrites. All of these substances are a part of the nitrogen cycle , and there are all interconnected. Humans have changed natural nitrate and nitrite proportions radically, mainly due to the application of nitrate-containing manures.

Nitrogen is emitted extensively by industrial companies, increasing the nitrate and nitrite supplies in soil and water as a consequence of reactions that take place in the nitrogen cycle. Nitrate concentrations in drinking water will greatly increase due to this.

Nitrates and nitrites are known to cause several health effects. These are the most common effects: - Reactions with haemoglobin in blood, causing the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood to decrease nitrite - Decreased functioning of the thyroid gland nitrate - Vitamin A shortages nitrate - Fashioning of nitro amines, which are known as one of the most common causes of cancer nitrates and nitrites.

The drug Viagra works by a similar mechanism, except that the blood is delivered elsewhere. Nitric oxide also acts as a neurotransmitter. In the atmosphere, nitric oxide is a pollutant, produced in automobile exhaust and power plants; it can be converted into nitrogen dioxide and nitric acid, HNO 3 , which leads to increased acidity levels in rain.

Nitrous oxide, N 2 O, also known as dinitrogen monoxide or laughing gas, is a mild anesthetic used in dentistry and surgery; it is also used as an aerosol propellant in cans of whipped cream. Nitrogen dioxide, NO 2 , is produced in the exhaust from motor vehicles, and reacts with hydrocarbons in the air to produce photochemical smog.

Nitrogen is also found in a number of explosives. Gunpowder contains potassium nitrate, KNO 3 , also known as saltpeter, which is a powerful oxidizing agent; the other components of gunpowder are sulfur, and coal.

Nitroglycerin is made from the molecule glycerin or glycerol , which is a chain of three carbon atoms, each of which has an OH group on it; in nitroglycerine, the H on the OH is replaced by the nitro group, NO 2.

Nitroglycerin is dangerously unstable, but when mixed with kieselguhr diatomaceous earth , which acts as an adsorbent, it is safer to handle, and does not explode until set off by a smaller explosion from a detonator such as a blasting cap. Dynamite was invented by the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel in ; on his death, his fortune was used to establish the Nobel Prizes, which are awarded for outstanding achievements in the sciences, literature, and peace.

TNT 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene , is a benzene ring with a CH 3 group attached forming the toluene molecule to which three nitro groups are attached which is accomplished by the use of a mixture of concentrated nitric and sulfuric acids. TNT is stable for long periods of time, and is not shock sensitive as nitroglycerin is.

HMX, also known as octogen or cyclotetramethylene-tetranitramine, consists of a ring four carbon atoms and four nitrogen atoms, with each nitrogen atom having one nitro group bonded to it; this substance is used in plastic explosives, rocket propellants, and the detonator in nuclear warheads. RDX, also known as cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine, cyclonite, hexogen, and T4, contains a ring of three carbon atoms and three nitrogen atoms, with each nitrogen bonded to a nitro group; it is used in mixtures with TNT, in plastic explosives, and in nuclear weapons.

The ammonium nitrate and sulfate found in fertilizers can also produce powerful explosions under the "right" conditions: a ship in the harbor in Texas City which was carrying tons of ammonium nitrate exploded on April 15, , killing over people; the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was destroyed by a bomb made from ammonium nitrate and nitromethane a motor fuel , killing people.

Nitrogen gas is also what inflates the ubiquitous "air" bags that are used as safety devices in automobiles. An airbag canister contains about grams of sodium azide, NaN 3 ; when a collision is detected, a sensor sends an electric current through the sample, causing it to decompose into sodium metal which is converted into sodium salts by other reagents and nitrogen gas, which can inflate the cushioning bag in 15 to 25 milliseconds. When mixed with hydrochloric acid, it forms a solution called aqua regia "royal water" , which is capable of dissolving even extremely unreactive metals such as gold and platinum.

Deep-sea divers can suffer from a condition called "the bends" because of the increased amount of nitrogen dissolved in their blood at high pressure. Increasing the pressure on a gas increases the solubility of a gas in a liquid Henry's Law ; one application of this is seen when a can of soda is opened — at high pressure in an unopened can, about 4 atmospheres of pressure , carbon dioxide is dissolved in the water in the soda, but when the can is opened, the pressure is released, and the dissolved gas comes bubbling out of the solution.

Divers who have been underwater for a long time, especially at great depths, where the pressure is even higher, have increased amounts of nitrogen dissolved in their bloodstream; if they surface too quickly, the nitrogen can come bubbling out of the bloodstream, causing pain in the joints, dizziness, seizures, paralysis, or death.

Coming back to the surface slowly allows time for the nitrogen to come out of solution without forming bubbles; alternatively, a breathing mixture of oxygen and helium can be used, since helium is less soluble in the bloodstream than nitrogen. Phosphorus is a nonmetallic element that exists in several allotropic forms see below. It is found in the Earth's crust at a concentration of ppm, making it the 11th most abundant element.

Phosphorus was the first element to have been discovered since ancient times, although compounds of phosphorus had been known for millennia. It was first isolated by Hennig Brandt, an alchemist from Hamburg, in , from the residue obtained from concentrated, putrefied urine.

The name comes from the Greek words phos "light" and phoros "bringing" , and refers to the fact that elemental phosphorus glows in the dark, and spontaneously bursts into flame in air. See this page for a demonstration of the burning of phosphorus. Phosphorus is found in the body in the form of phosphate anion, PO 4 3- ; usually one or more of the oxygen atoms are connected to carbon groups to form organophosphates.

Phosphate groups are used to store chemical energy in the adenosine triphosphate molecule ATP ; phosphate groups hold together the sugar molecules that contain the nucleic acids in DNA and RNA; and phospholipids fats which contain phosphate groups are a major component of cell membranes.