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.