inert gas

noun

, Chemistry.

inert gas

Also callednoble gasrare gasargonon any of the unreactive gaseous elements helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon
(loosely) any gas, such as carbon dioxide, that is nonoxidizing

inert gas

First recorded in 1900–05

In the 1890s, chemists added a whole new family of elements to Dmitrii Mendeleev’s periodic table — the inert gases.

Textbooks all taught that the arrangement of electrons around the inert gas atoms precluded any opportunity for chemical combination.

The volume of flame, however, is increased by inert gas, and there is a proportionate diminution of the heating effect.

Briefly Arcot and Wade discussed the unusual atmosphere, finally deciding that the inert gas was argon.

The inert gas, nitrogen, had been discovered a year or two before.

Nitrogen by itself is an inert gas, colorless and uninflammable.

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