Mendeleev's Periodic Table > N - Nitrogen

N - Nitrogen

The gas, nitrogen occupies 78% of our atmosphere, but it was not known until "mephitic air" was discovered by Daniel Rutherford in Scotland (and others, independently) in 1772. The inability of nitrogen to support combustion was the cause of its discovery. Nitrogen is a Group 15 element. The element seemed so inert that Lavoisier named it azote, meaning "without life". However, its compounds are vital components of foods, fertilizers, and explosives. Nitrogen gas is colourless, odourless, and generally inert. As a liquid it is also colourless and odourless. When nitrogen is heated, it combines directly with magnesium, lithium, or calcium. When mixed with oxygen and subjected to electric sparks, it forms nitric oxide (NO) and then the dioxide (NO₂). When heated under pressure with hydrogen in the presence of a suitable catalyst , it forms ammonia (Haber process).

Isotopes of N (Nitrogen):