xenon

[ zee-non, zen-on ]

noun

, Chemistry.

1. a heavy, colorless, chemically inactive, monatomic gaseous element used for filling radio, television, and luminescent tubes. : Xe; : 131.30; : 54.

xenon

/ ˈzɛnɒn /

noun

1. a colourless odourless gaseous element occurring in trace amounts in air; formerly considered inert it is now known to form compounds and is used in radio valves, stroboscopic and bactericidal lamps, and bubble chambers. Symbol: Xe; atomic no: 54; atomic wt: 131.29; valency: 0; density: 5.887 kg/m³; melting pt: –111.76°C; boiling pt: –108.0°C

xenon

/ zē′nŏn′ /

1. A colorless, odorless element in the noble gas group occurring in extremely small amounts in the atmosphere. It was the first noble gas found to form compounds with other elements. Xenon is used in lamps that make intense flashes, such as strobe lights and flashbulbs for photography. Atomic number 54; atomic weight 131.29; melting point −111.9°C; boiling point −107.1°C; density (gas) 5.887 grams per liter; specific gravity (liquid) 3.52 (−109°C).
2. See Periodic Table

Word History and Origins

Origin of xenon¹

1898; < Greek xénon, neuter of xénos strange ( -on ² ); name introduced by William Ramsay, the element's discoverer

Word History and Origins

Origin of xenon¹

C19: from Greek: something strange

Example Sentences

The detector is designed to look for dark matter particles crashing into xenon atoms’ nuclei, causing them to recoil.

From Science News

Scientists scaled up the search to allow for a better chance of spying the particles, with each detector containing multiple tons of liquid xenon.

From Science News

Noble gases like argon and xenon, for instance, dissolve more in cold water than in warm water, along a precisely known temperature curve.

From Popular-Science

So this gas giant should not have acquired nitrogen, argon, krypton or xenon ice.

From Science News For Students

If so, that means Saturn arose in a warmer region and so should not have acquired nitrogen, argon, krypton or xenon ice.

From Science News

They measured the amount of different isotopes of xenon trapped in quartz crystals.

From The Daily Beast

The remaining elements of this group—neon, krypton, and xenon—have been obtained from liquid air.

From Project Gutenberg

The evidence for the existence of krypton and xenon is, however, inconclusive.

From Project Gutenberg

Aristarchus combated “the paradox of Xenon,” and it does not seem to have had much acceptance in antiquity.

From Project Gutenberg

That report was enough to make a man quit his job and go to Xenon to start a chicken ranch or grow oranges.

From Project Gutenberg

The animals on Xenon are immune from them, but when they land on a man, they send out tiny rootlets that are like minute hairs.

From Project Gutenberg