36Kr Krypton
Year Discovered
1898
Discovered By
Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers of England
Biological Rating
Not necessary for life.
Description
Named from the Greek word meaning “hidden,” krypton is a heavy, colorless and odorless gas. Chemists have found more compounds of krypton than the lighter noble gases, especially compounds with fluorine. However, it is still quite unreactive. It has only a few uses. It is sometimes used with argon in lighting fixtures and in flash lamps for high-speed photography. A characteristic of krypton’s spectral light defines the length of a meter, the international unit of length.
Biological Benefits
Krypton has no known biological use.
Role in Life Processes
No known benefits in life processes.
Sources
There are no krypton-bearing minerals. It is obtained from liquefying air, where it occurs about 1 part per million.