86
Rn
222
Radon
Noble Gas
Group 18
Period 6
Block p
Gas
Radon is a chemical element of the periodic table with chemical symbol Rn and atomic number 86 with an atomic weight of 222 u and is classed as noble gas and is part of group 18 (noble gases). Radon is gas at room temperature.
Radon in the periodic table
| Symbol | Rn |
| Atomic number | 86 |
| Group | 18 (Noble gases) |
| Period | 6 |
| Block | p |
| Classification | Noble Gas |
| Appearance | Colorless gas, occasionally glows green or red in discharge tubes |
| Color | Colorless |
| Number of protons | 86 p+ |
| Number of neutrons | 136 n0 |
| Number of electrons | 86 e- |
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaRadon is a chemical element with symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive, colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas, occurring naturally as a decay product of radium. Its most stable isotope, 222Rn, has a half-life of 3.8 days.
Physical properties
| Phase at STP | Gas |
| Density | 9.73 g/cm3 |
| Atomic weight | 222 u |
Thermal properties
| Melting point | 202 K -71.15 °C -96.07 °F |
| Boiling point | 211.5 K -61.65 °C -78.97 °F |
| Heat of vaporization | 16.4 kJ/mol |
Atomic properties
| Electronegativity (Pauling Scale) | 2.2 |
| Electron affinity | -68 kJ/mol |
| Oxidation states | 0, +2, +6 () |
| Ionization energies |
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Electron configuration for radon
Electron configuration Shorthand configuration | [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full configuration | 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 4f14 5s2 5p6 5d10 6s2 6p6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Electron configuration chart |
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| Electrons per shell | 2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Valence electrons | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Valency electrons | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bohr model | Figure: Shell diagram of Radon (Rn) atom. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Orbital Diagram
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The history of Radon
| Discovery | Ernest Rutherford, Robert Bowie Owens (1899) |
| First isolation | William Ramsay, Robert Whytlaw-Gray (1910) |
Discovery of radon Radon was the fifth radioactive element to be discovered, in 1899 by Ernest Rutherford and Robert B. Owens at McGill University in Montreal, after uranium, thorium, radium, and polonium. In 1899, Pierre and Marie Curie observed that the gas emitted by radium remained radioactive for a month. Later that year, Rutherford and Owens noticed variations when trying to measure radiation from thorium oxide. Rutherford noticed that the compounds of thorium continuously emit a radioactive gas that remains radioactive for several minutes, and called this gas "emanation" (from Latin: emanare, to flow out, and emanatio, expiration), and later "thorium emanation" ("Th Em"). In 1900, Friedrich Ernst Dorn reported some experiments in which he noticed that radium compounds emanate a radioactive gas he named "radium emanation" ("Ra Em"). In 1901, Rutherford and Harriet Brooks demonstrated that the emanations are radioactive, but credited the Curies for the discovery of the element. In 1903, similar emanations were observed from actinium by André-Louis Debierne, and were called "actinium emanation" ("Ac Em"). In 1909, Ramsay and Robert Whytlaw-Gray isolated radon and determined its melting temperature and approximate density. In 1910, they determined that it was the heaviest known gas. | |
| Original word | radius |
| Language of origin | Latin |
| Name source | Properties |
| Meaning | “From radium” |
Naming The name is derived from radium: radon was originally called 'radium emanation' before being recognised as a separate element. | |