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Neil Bartlett and the Reactive Noble Gases
Society
Main Category
Sub Category
Era
Date Created
Location Country
us
Coordinates
49.260803, -123.25313
Address1
Dept of Chemistry
Address2
Univ of British Columbia
City
Vancouver
State
Country
Zip

In 1962 Neil Bartlett demonstrated the first reaction of a noble gas. The noble gas family of elements - helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon - had previously been regarded as inert. By combining xenon with a platinum fluoride, Bartlett created the first noble gas compound. This reaction began the field of noble gas chemistry, which became fundamental to the scientific understanding of the chemical bond. Noble gas compounds have helped create anti-tumor agents and have been used in lasers.

Image Credit
Image courtesy University of British Columbia Library.
Image Caption
Neil Bartlett and the Reactive Noble Gases

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