What are the #"Noble Gases"#?

1 Answer
anor277
Feb 23, 2016

The #"Noble Gases"# are Group VIII (or 18) of the Periodic Table: helium; neon; argon; krypton; xenon. Another name for this Group are the #"Inert Gases"#.

Explanation:

Given the full valence shell of this Group, the Noble gases are supremely unreactive, and rarely form chemical compounds. Given this lack of reactivity, early chemists dubbed them "Noble", i.e. upper class twats who were too refined to mix with the common herd of reactive chemical elements.

All of these elements are mono-atomic gases, that rarely form chemical compounds, and then only with the most oxidizing elements, fluorine and oxygen.

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