noble gas

American  

noun

Chemistry.

1. any of the chemically inert gaseous elements of group 8A or 0 of the periodic table: helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon.

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noble gas British  

noun

1. another name for inert gas

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noble gas Scientific  

/ nō′bəl /

1. Any of the six gases helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon. Because the outermost electron shell of atoms of these gases is full, they do not react chemically with other substances except under certain special conditions.

2. Also called inert gas

3. See Periodic Table

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Etymology

Origin of noble gas

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

The age of the Allan Hills samples was determined directly from the ice itself using precise measurements of an isotope of the noble gas argon.

From Science Daily

"It suggests that melting, despite its complexities, exhibits a fundamental unity across diverse systems, from noble gases to metals."

From Science Daily

That glass, once cooled, then is filled with neon, the inert noble gas that gave the 1950s and the 1990s their distinctive looks.

From Seattle Times

They also found that the ratio isotopes for a different noble gas, neon, matches the conditions believed to have existed on Earth when the planet was formed millions of years ago.

From Salon

The noble gas neon was first isolated by British chemists at the turn of the 20th century.

From Los Angeles Times