Science Fair Adventure Home / Periodic Table / Element Details

Radon

(222)

Name: Radon
Symbol: Rn
Atomic number: 86
Atomic weight: (222)
CAS Registry ID: 10043-92-2

Group name: Noble gas
Period number: 6
Block: p-block
Switch:
Compare Element

Description

Radon is an odorless, colorless, noble gas in its natural state. It is one of the heaviest gases known, and it is toxic and known to produce lung cancer in people. Radon as an atomic weight of 222, a melting point of - 96 °F, and a boiling point of - 79.1 °F. Radon does not have many commercial uses as it is so toxic. However there are some uses of radon and these include: in hydrologic research, geologic studies, and atmospheric studies.

enlarge image

Isolation

Radon naturally occurs in the Earth’s crust and emanates from the ground in its gaseous form and in the water in some hot springs. It may be isolated or created.

enlarge image

Radon is present in the Earth’s crust and atmosphere once it escapes the crust barrier. Radon present in the atmosphere in minute amounts could technically be collected as a by-product from the liquefaction and separation of the air. In this process, the air is captured and heated until it becomes a liquid. Fractional distillation procedures are then used to separate out the different components. While this process could theoretically be used to isolate radon it has not yet been used as a source of radon. Only minute amounts of radon are needed for its current purposes, and most of it is collected through reactions that occur in nuclear power plants. The radon produced in this method is collected into cooled water from which it is extracted and isolated. It is then brought into a holding take where it decays, (its half life is only around 4 days), and in this safe reduced form it is released into the atmosphere.

General
Name	Radon
Symbol	Rn
Number	86
Chemical series	noble gases
Group	18
Period	6
Block	p
Appearance	colorless
Standard atomic weight	(222) g·mol⁻¹
Electron configuration	[Xe] 4f¹⁴ 5d¹⁰ 6s² 6p⁶
Electrons per shell	2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 8

Atomic properties
Crystal structure	cubic face centered
Oxidation states	0
Electronegativity	(scale Pauling)
Ionization energies	1st: 1037 kJ/mol
(more)
(more)
Atomic radius	120 pm
Atomic radius (calc.)
Covalent radius	145 pm
Van der Waals radius

Physical properties
Phase	gas
Density (near r.t.)	(0 °C, 101.325 kPa) 9.73 g/L
Liquid density at m.p.
Melting point	202 K (−71.15 °C, −96 °F)
Boiling point	211.3 K (−61.85 °C, −79.1 °F)
Critical point	377 K, 6.28 MPa
Heat of fusion	3.247 kJ·mol⁻¹
Heat of vaporization	18.10 kJ·mol⁻¹
Heat capacity	(25 °C) 20.786 J·mol⁻¹·K⁻¹

Miscellaneous
Magnetic ordering	non-magnetic
Electrical resistivity
Thermal conductivity	(300 K) 3.61 m W·m⁻¹·K⁻¹
Thermal expansion
Speed of sound (thin rod)
Young's modulus
Shear modulus
Bulk modulus
Poisson ratio
Mohs hardness
Vickers hardness
Brinell hardness
CAS registry number	10043-92-2

Print this page Bookmark this page

Hide all projects Hide/View all projects

All Projects List


Accelerate Rusting	Ant Microphotography	Apple Mummy	Balloon Rocket Car
Barney Banana	Bending Water	Bernoulli’s Principle	Blind Spot in Vision
Boiling Point of Water	Caffeine And Typing	Candy Molecules	Capillarity of Soils
Checking vs. Savings	Cleaning Oil Spills	Cloud Cover	CO2 & Photosynthesis
Collecting DNA	Colorful Celery	Colors And Temperature	Composition of a Shell
Computer Passwords	Corrosiveness of Soda	Create a Heat Detector	Create Lightening
Cultivate Slime Molds	Desalinate Sea Water	Detergents and Plants	Dissolving in Liquids
Distillation of Water	Double Color Flower	Egg in a Bottle	Eroding Away
Expanding Soap	Extracting Starch	Fans And Body Temp	Fertilizer & Plants
Filtration of Water	Floating Ball Experiment	Floating Balloon	Fog Formation
Font and Memory	Food and Academics	Fruit Battery Power	Full and Low Fat Foods
Galileo's Experiment	Grape Juice & Cleaners	Gravity and Plants	Green Slime
Growing a Crystal	Growing Bread Mold	Homemade Snowflakes	Home-made Stethoscope
Homemade Volcano	Human Battery Power	Inertia of an Egg	Information and CD’s
Invisible Ink	Jar Compass	Lemon Floaties	Levers And Force
Lift an Ice Cube	Light Colors and Plants	Long Lasting Bubbles	Magic Balloons
Make a Compost Pile	Make Limestone	Make Objects Float	Make your own sundial
Matchbox Guitar	Math and Gender	Mean, Median and Range	Measuring Air Pollution
Mentos Soda Volcano	Milky Plastic	Mini Greenhouse	Missing Reflection
Molls Experiment	Music and Plants	Musical Bottles	Nocturnal Plants
Ocean Life & Oil Spills	Ocean Temperature	Optical Mice	Oral Bacteria
Organic vs. Inorganic	Osmosis	Oxygen & Photosynthesis	Pascal’s Law
Play-Doh and Volume	Preserve Spider Webs	Pressure Volcano	Pulse Rates
Pythagorean Tuning	Refraction in Water	Rollercoasters & Loops	Rubbery Egg
Rust and Moisture	Search Engines	Seed Germination	Separate Salt And Pepper
Snappy Sounds	Soil Erosion	Soil vs. Hydroponics	Spectrum through Water
Speed of Decomposition	Spore Prints	Static Electricity	Statistics and M&M’s
Stem-less Flowers	Super Strength Egg	Temperature and CPUs	Thirsty Rocks
Tornado Demonstration	Translucent Egg	Transpiration in Plants	Typing and Speed
Vibrating Coin	Volcanic Gas	Water and Living Things	Water Displacement
Water Evaporation	Water pH

Radon

Description

Isolation

All Projects List

All Categories