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Physical Environment > Nitrogen |
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This site tells the story of the history of the universe. Click Earlier and Later to follow the story. Note: Many facts have been simplified to make them easier to understand. |
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Nitrogen nuclei contain 7 protons. They were formed inside red giant stars and thrown out of them in a supernova.
On the way out they picked up 7 electrons to make nitrogen atoms. They are part of many of the molecules of life. Nitrogen atoms can make 3 covalent bonds, as explained by the shell model of the atom. For example 1 nitrogen and 3 hydrogen atoms can join to form a molecule of ammonia. We can think of nitrogen atoms as a ball with 3 arms or as a shell with 3 holes. In models nitrogen atoms are usually colored blue. For the size of nitrogen atoms, click here. Daniel Rutherford, a medical student in Scotland, was first to publish his discovery of nitrogen in 1772 but Joseph Priestley, Henry Cavendish and Carl Wilhelm Scheele also discovered it about the same time. Antoine Lavoisier first recognized the gas as an element and called it azote (Greek - "without life") because of its inability to support life. The name nitrogen, from "nitre" (saltpetre, or potassium nitrate KNO) plus "gen" (forming), was invented in 1790. |
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Physical Environment > Nitrogen |
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Basic Information |
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