Noble Gases - Noble gases are colourless and odourless at STP and are described as non-reactive, due to its full valence of electrons (ironically, however these elements do occasionally create compounds). They are commonly used as filler gases in light bulbs. Helium (He) - Has the atomic number 2. Is tasteless, odorless, colorless, inert, non-toxic, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table. Neon (Ne) - Has the atomic number 10. Is a colorless, odorless, inert, monatomic gas under STP. Argon (Ar) - Has the atomic number 18. Is the third most common gas in the Earths atmosphere. Is five hundred times more abundant than neon. Argon makes lighting blue. Krypton (Kr) - Has the atomic number 36. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas. Krypton occurs in trace amounts in the atmosphere. It is often mixed with other rare gases in fluorescent lamps. Krypton can be used in both photography and lighting. Xenon (Xe) - Has the atomic number 54. It is a colorless, heavy, odorless gas that occurs in the Earths atmosphere in trace amounts. Is not very reactive so it can undergo a few chemical reactions such as the formation of xenon hexafluoroplatinate which is the first noble gas to be synthesized. Radioactive xenon-135 is produced from iodine-135 from nuclear fission and acts as the most significant neutron absorber in nuclear reactors. Radon (Rn) - Has the atomic number 86. It is an odorless ,colorless, radioactive, tasteless gas occurring naturally as an indirect decay product of uranium or thorium. Ununoctium (Uuo) - Has the atomic number 118. Ununoctium is currently the only synthetic member of the noble gases. It has the highest atomic number and highest atomic mass of all the elements so far and is predicted to be solid.
