You are on page 1of 18

Nitrogen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nitrogen is a chemical element with symbol N and


atomic number 7. It is the lightest pnictogen and at room
temperature, it is a transparent, odorless diatomic gas.
Nitrogen is a common element in the universe, estimated
at about seventh in total abundance in the Milky Way and
the Solar System. On Earth, the element forms about 78%
of Earth's atmosphere and as such is the most abundant
uncombined element. The element nitrogen was
discovered as a separable component of air, by Scottish
physician Daniel Rutherford, in 1772.
Many industrially important compounds, such as
ammonia, nitric acid, organic nitrates (propellants and
explosives), and cyanides, contain nitrogen. The
extremely strong triple bond in elemental nitrogen (NN)
dominates nitrogen chemistry, causing difficulty for both
organisms and industry in converting the N2 into useful
compounds, but at the same time causing release of large
amounts of often useful energy when the compounds
burn, explode, or decay back into nitrogen gas.
Synthetically-produced ammonia and nitrates are key
industrial fertilizers and fertilizer nitrates are key
pollutants in causing the eutrophication of water systems.
Outside the major uses of nitrogen compounds as
fertilizers and energy-stores, nitrogen is a constituent of
organic compounds as diverse as Kevlar fabric and
cyanoacrylate "super" glue. Nitrogen is a constituent of
molecules in every major pharmacological drug class,
including antibiotics. Many drugs are mimics or prodrugs
of natural nitrogen-containing signal molecules: for
example, the organic nitrates nitroglycerin and
nitroprusside control blood pressure by being metabolized
to nitric oxide. Plant alkaloids (often defense chemicals)
contain nitrogen by definition, and thus many notable
nitrogen-containing drugs, such as caffeine and morphine
are either alkaloids or synthetic mimics that act (as many
plant alkaloids do) on receptors of animal
neurotransmitters (for example, synthetic amphetamines).
Nitrogen occurs in all organisms, primarily in amino acids
(and thus proteins), in the nucleic acids (DNA and RNA)
and in the energy transfer molecule adenosine
triphosphate. The human body contains about 3% by mass
of nitrogen, the fourth most abundant element in the body
after oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen. The nitrogen cycle

Nitrogen, 7N

Liquid nitrogen
Spectral lines of nitrogen
General properties
Name, symbol

nitrogen, N

Pronunciation

/natrdn/
NY-tr-jn

Appearance

colorless gas, liquid or solid

Nitrogen in the periodic table

P
carbon nitrogen oxygen

Atomic number

Standard atomic
weight (Ar)

14.007[1] (14.00643

Element category

diatomic nonmetal

14.00728)[2]

Group, block

group 15 (pnictogens), pblock

Period

period 2

Electron
configuration

[He] 2s2 2p3

per shell

2, 5
Physical properties

Phase

gas

Melting point

63.15 K (210.00 C,
346.00 F)

describes movement of the element from the air, into the


biosphere and organic compounds, then back into the
atmosphere.

Contents
1 History and etymology
2 Production
3 Properties
3.1 Isotopes
3.2 Electromagnetic spectrum
3.3 Reactions
4 Occurrence
5 Compounds
6 Applications
6.1 Nitrogen gas
6.2 Liquid nitrogen
6.3 Nitrogen compounds
7 Biological role
8 Safety
9 See also
10 Notes
11 References
12 Bibliography
13 Further reading
14 External links

History and etymology


Nitrogen is formally considered to have been discovered
by Scottish physician Daniel Rutherford in 1772, who
called it noxious air.[3][4] Though he did not recognize it
as an entirely different chemical substance, he clearly
distinguished it from "fixed air".[5] The fact that there was
a component of air that does not support combustion was
clear to Rutherford. Nitrogen was also studied at about the
same time by Carl Wilhelm Scheele, Henry Cavendish,
and Joseph Priestley, who referred to it as burnt air or
phlogisticated air. Nitrogen gas was inert enough that
Antoine Lavoisier referred to it as "mephitic air" or azote,
from the Greek word azotos, "lifeless".[6] In it,
animals died and flames were extinguished. This
"mephitic air" consisted mostly of N2, but might also have
included more than 1% argon.
Lavoisier's name for nitrogen is used in many languages
(French, Italian, Polish, Russian, Albanian, Turkish, etc.)
and still remains in English in the common names of

Boiling point

77.355 K (195.795 C,
320.431 F)

Density at stp (0 C
and 101.325 kPa)

1.251 gL1

when liquid, at b.p.

0.808 gcm3

Triple point

63.151 K, 12.52 kPa

Critical point

126.192 K, 3.3958 MPa

Heat of fusion

(N2) 0.72 kJmol1

Heat of
vaporization

(N2) 5.56 kJmol1

Molar heat capacity

(N2) 29.124 Jmol1K1

vapor pressure
P (Pa)

10 100

at T (K)

37 41 46

1k

10 k

100 k

53

62

77

Atomic properties
Oxidation states

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3 (a
strongly acidic oxide)

Electronegativity

Pauling scale: 3.04

Ionization energies

1st: 1402.3 kJmol1


2nd: 2856 kJmol1
3rd: 4578.1 kJmol1
(more)

Covalent radius

711 pm

Van der Waals


radius

155 pm
Miscellanea

Crystal structure

hexagonal

Speed of sound

353 ms1 (gas, at 27 C)

Thermal
conductivity

25.83103 Wm1K1

Magnetic ordering

diamagnetic

CAS Registry
Number

7727-37-9
History

Discovery

Daniel Rutherford (1772)

Named by

Jean-Antoine Chaptal
(1790)
Most stable isotopes

many compounds, such as hydrazine and compounds of


the azide ion. The English word nitrogen (1794) entered
the language from the French nitrogne, coined in 1790
by French chemist Jean-Antoine Chaptal (17561832),
from the Greek nitron, "sodium carbonate" and the
French -gne, "producing" from Greek - -genes,
"producer, begetter". The gas had been found in nitric
acid. Chaptal's meaning was that nitrogen gas is the

iso
13N

NA
syn

half-life

DM DE (MeV) DP

9.965 min

2.220

14N

99.634%

14N

is stable with 7 neutrons

15N

0.366%

15N

is stable with 8 neutrons

13C

essential part of nitric acid, in turn formed from saltpeter (potassium nitrate), then known as niter.[7]
Nitrogen compounds were well known by the Middle Ages. Alchemists knew nitric acid as aqua fortis
(strong water). The mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids was known as aqua regia (royal water),
celebrated for its ability to dissolve gold (the king of metals). The earliest military, industrial, and
agricultural applications of nitrogen compounds used saltpeter (sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate), most
notably in gunpowder, and later as fertilizer. In 1910, Lord Rayleigh discovered that an electrical discharge
in nitrogen gas produced "active nitrogen", a monatomic allotrope of nitrogen. The "whirling cloud of
brilliant yellow light" produced by his apparatus reacted with quicksilver to produce explosive mercury
nitride.[8]
For a long time sources of nitrogen compounds were limited. Natural sources originated either from biology
or deposits of nitrates produced by atmospheric reactions. Nitrogen fixation by industrial processes like the
FrankCaro process (18951899) and HaberBosch process (19081913) eased this shortage of nitrogen
compounds, to the extent that half of global food production (see applications) now relies on synthetic
nitrogen fertilizers.[9] At the same time, use of the Ostwald process (1902) to produce nitrates from
industrial nitrogen fixation allowed the large-scale industrial production of nitrates as feedstock in the
manufacture of explosives in the World Wars of the 20th century.

Production
Nitrogen gas is an industrial gas produced by the fractional distillation of liquid air, or by mechanical means
using gaseous air (i.e., pressurized reverse osmosis membrane or pressure swing adsorption). Commercial
nitrogen is often a byproduct of air-processing for industrial concentration of oxygen for steelmaking and
other purposes. When supplied compressed in cylinders it is often called OFN (oxygen-free nitrogen).[10]
In a chemical laboratory it is prepared by treating an aqueous solution of ammonium chloride with sodium
nitrite.[11]
NH4Cl(aq) + NaNO2(aq) N2(g) + NaCl(aq) + 2 H2O (l)
Small amounts of impurities NO and HNO3 are also formed in this reaction. The impurities can be removed
by passing the gas through aqueous sulfuric acid containing potassium dichromate.[11] Very pure nitrogen
can be prepared by the thermal decomposition of barium azide or sodium azide.[12]
2 NaN3 2 Na + 3 N2

Properties

Nitrogen is a nonmetal, with an electronegativity of 3.04.[13] It has five electrons in its outer shell and is,
therefore, trivalent in most compounds. The triple bond in molecular nitrogen (N2) is one of the strongest.
The resulting difficulty of converting N2 into other compounds, and the ease (and associated high energy
release) of converting nitrogen compounds into elemental N2, have dominated the role of nitrogen in both
nature and human economic activities.
At atmospheric pressure, molecular nitrogen condenses (liquefies) at 77 K (195.79 C) and freezes at 63 K
(210.01 C)[14] into the beta hexagonal close-packed crystal allotropic form. Below 35.4 K (237.6 C)
nitrogen assumes the cubic crystal allotropic form (called the alpha phase).[15] Liquid nitrogen, a fluid
resembling water in appearance, but with 80.8% of the density (the density of liquid nitrogen at its boiling
point is 0.808 g/mL), is a common cryogen.[16]
Unstable allotropes of nitrogen consisting of more than two nitrogen atoms have been produced in the
laboratory, like N3 and N4.[17] Under extremely high pressures (1.1 million atm) and high temperatures
(2000 K), as produced using a diamond anvil cell, nitrogen polymerizes into the single-bonded cubic gauche
crystal structure. This structure is similar to that of diamond, and both have extremely strong covalent
bonds. N4 is nicknamed "nitrogen diamond".[18]
Other (as yet unsynthesized) allotropes include hexazine (N6, a benzene analog)[19] and octaazacubane (N8,
a cubane analog).[20] The former is predicted to be highly unstable, while the latter is predicted to be
kinetically stable, for reasons of orbital symmetry.[21]

Isotopes
There are two stable isotopes of nitrogen: 14N and 15N. By far the most common is 14N (99.634%), which is
produced in the CNO cycle in stars.[22] Of the ten isotopes produced synthetically, 13N has a half-life of ten
minutes and the remaining isotopes have half-lives on the order of seconds or less.[23]
Biologically mediated reactions (e.g., assimilation, nitrification, and denitrification) strongly control nitrogen
dynamics in the soil. These reactions typically result in 15N enrichment of the substrate and depletion of the
product.[24]
A small part (0.73%) of the molecular nitrogen in Earth's atmosphere is the isotopologue 14N15N, and
almost all the rest is 14N2.[25]
The radioisotope 16N is the dominant radionuclide in the coolant of pressurized water reactors or boiling
water reactors during normal operation. It is produced from 16O (in water) via (n,p) reaction. It has a short
half-life of about 7.1 s,[23] but during its decay back to 16O produces high-energy gamma radiation (5 to 7
MeV).[23][26]
Because of this, the access to the primary coolant piping in a pressurized water reactor must be restricted
during reactor power operation. 16N is one of the main means used to immediately detect even small leaks
from the primary coolant to the secondary steam cycle.[26]

In similar fashion, access to any of the steam cycle components in a boiling water reactor nuclear power
plant must be restricted during operation. Condensate from the condenser is typically retained for 10 minutes
to allow for decay of the 16N. This eliminates the need to shield and restrict access to any of the feed water
piping or pumps.

Electromagnetic spectrum
Molecular nitrogen (14N2) is largely transparent to infrared and visible
radiation because it is a homonuclear molecule and, thus, has no dipole
moment to couple to electromagnetic radiation at these wavelengths.
Significant absorption occurs at extreme ultraviolet wavelengths,[27]
Nitrogen discharge
beginning around 100 nanometers. This is associated with electronic
(spectrum) tube
transitions in the molecule to states in which charge is not distributed evenly
between nitrogen atoms. Nitrogen absorption leads to significant absorption
of ultraviolet radiation in the Earth's upper atmosphere and the atmospheres of other planetary bodies. For
similar reasons, pure molecular nitrogen lasers typically emit light in the ultraviolet range.
Nitrogen also makes a contribution to visible air glow from the Earth's upper atmosphere, through electron
impact excitation followed by emission. This visible blue air glow (seen in the polar aurora and in the reentry glow of returning spacecraft) typically results not from molecular nitrogen but rather from free
nitrogen atoms combining with oxygen to form nitric oxide (NO).
Nitrogen gas also exhibits scintillation.

Reactions
In general, nitrogen is unreactive at standard temperature and pressure. N2 reacts
spontaneously with few reagents, being resilient to acids and bases as well as
oxidants and most reductants. When nitrogen reacts spontaneously with a reagent,
the net transformation is often called nitrogen fixation.
Nitrogen reacts with elemental lithium. Lithium burns in an atmosphere of N2 to
give lithium

nitride:[28]

Structure of
dinitrogen, N2

6 Li + N2 2 Li3N
Magnesium also burns in nitrogen, forming magnesium nitride.
3 Mg + N2 Mg3N2
N2 forms a variety of adducts with transition metals. The first
example of a dinitrogen complex is [Ru(NH3)5(N2)]2+ (see figure at
right). However, it is interesting to note that the N2 ligand was
obtained by the decomposition of hydrazine, and not coordination of
free dinitrogen. Such compounds are now numerous, other examples
include IrCl(N2)(PPh3)2, W(N2)2(Ph2PCH2CH2PPh2)2, and [(5C5Me4H)2Zr]2(2, 2,2-N2). These complexes illustrate how N2

Structure of [Ru(NH3)5(N2)]2+

might bind to the metal(s) in nitrogenase and the catalyst for the Haber process.[29] A catalytic process to
reduce N2 to ammonia with the use of a molybdenum complex in the presence of a proton source was
published in 2005.[28]
The beginning point for industrial production of nitrogen compounds is the Haber process, in which nitrogen
is fixed by reacting N2 and H2 over an iron(II, III) oxide (Fe3O4) catalyst at about 500 C and 200
atmospheres pressure. Biological nitrogen fixation in free-living cyanobacteria and in the root nodules of
plants also produces ammonia from molecular nitrogen. The reaction, which is the source of the bulk of
nitrogen in the biosphere, is catalyzed by the nitrogenase enzyme complex that contains Fe and Mo atoms,
using energy derived from hydrolysis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) into adenosine diphosphate and
inorganic phosphate (20.5 kJ/mol).

Occurrence
Nitrogen gas (N2) is the largest constituent of Earth's atmosphere (78.082% by volume of dry air, 75.3% by
weight in dry air).[30] However, this high concentration does not reflect nitrogen's overall low abundance in
the makeup of the Earth, from which most of the element escaped by solar evaporation, early in the planet's
formation.
Nitrogen is a common element in the universe, and is estimated to be approximately the seventh most
abundant chemical element by mass in the universe, the Milky Way, and the Solar System. In these places it
was originally created by fusion processes from carbon and hydrogen in supernovas.[31] Molecular nitrogen
and nitrogen compounds have been detected in interstellar space by astronomers using the Far Ultraviolet
Spectroscopic Explorer.[32]
Due to the volatility of elemental nitrogen and also its common compounds with hydrogen and oxygen,
nitrogen and its compounds were driven out of the planetesimals in the early Solar System by the heat of the
Sun, and in the form of gases, were lost to the rocky planets of the inner Solar System. Nitrogen is therefore
a relatively rare element on these inner planets, including Earth, as a whole. In this, nitrogen resembles neon,
which has a similar high abundance in the universe, but is also rare in the inner Solar System. Nitrogen is
estimated at 30th of the elements in crustal abundance. There exist some relatively uncommon nitrogen
minerals, such as saltpeter (potassium nitrate), Chile saltpeter (sodium nitrate) and sal ammoniac
(ammonium chloride). Even these are known mainly as concentrated from evaporative ocean beds, due to
their ready solubility of most naturally-occurring nitrogen compounds in water. A similar pattern occurs with
the water solubility of the uncommon light element boron.
However, nitrogen and its compounds occur far more commonly as gases in the atmospheres of planets and
moons that are large enough to have atmospheres.[a] For example, molecular nitrogen is a major constituent
of not only Earth's atmosphere, but also the Saturnian moon Titan's thick atmosphere. Also, due to retention
by gravity at colder temperatures, nitrogen and its compounds occur in trace to appreciable amounts in
planetary atmospheres of the gas giant planets.[33]
Nitrogen is present in all known living organisms, in proteins, nucleic acids, and other molecules. It
typically makes up around 4% of the dry weight of plant matter, and around 3% of the weight of the human
body. It is a large component of animal waste (for example, guano), usually in the form of urea, uric acid,
ammonium compounds, and derivatives of these nitrogenous products, which are essential nutrients for all
plants that cannot fix atmospheric nitrogen.

Compounds
The main neutral hydride of nitrogen is ammonia (NH3), although hydrazine (N2H4) is also commonly used.
Ammonia is more basic than water by 6 orders of magnitude. In solution ammonia forms the ammonium ion
+

(NH4 ). Liquid ammonia (boiling point 240 K) is amphiprotic (displaying either BrnstedLowry acidic or

basic character) and forms ammonium and the less common amide ions (NH2 ); both amides and nitride
3

(N ) salts are known, but decompose in water. Singly, doubly, triply and quadruply substituted alkyl
compounds of ammonia are called amines (four substitutions, to form commercially and biologically
important quaternary amines, results in a positively charged nitrogen, and thus a water-soluble, or at least
amphiphilic, compound). Larger chains, rings and structures of nitrogen hydrides are also known, but are
generally unstable.

Other classes of nitrogen anions (negatively charged ions) are the poisonous azides (N3 ), which are linear
and isoelectronic to carbon dioxide, but which bind to important iron-containing enzymes in the body in a
manner more resembling cyanide. Another molecule of the same structure is the colorless and relatively
inert anesthetic gas Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen monoxide, N2O), also known as laughing gas. This is one of a
variety of nitrogen oxides that form a family often abbreviated as NOx. Nitric oxide (nitrogen monoxide,
NO), is a natural free radical used in signal transduction in both plants and animals, for example, in
vasodilation by causing the smooth muscle of blood vessels to relax. The reddish and poisonous nitrogen
dioxide NO2 contains an unpaired electron and is an important component of smog. Nitrogen molecules
containing unpaired electrons show a tendency to dimerize (thus pairing the electrons), and are, in general,
highly reactive. The corresponding acids are nitrous HNO2 and nitric acid HNO3, with the corresponding
salts called nitrites and nitrates.
The higher oxides dinitrogen trioxide N2O3, dinitrogen tetroxide N2O4 and dinitrogen pentoxide N2O5, are
unstable and explosive, a consequence of the chemical stability of N2. Nearly every hypergolic rocket
engine uses N2O4 as the oxidizer; their fuels, various forms of hydrazine, are also nitrogen compounds.
These engines are extensively used on spacecraft such as the space shuttle and those of the Apollo Program
because their propellants are liquids at room temperature and ignition occurs on contact without an ignition
system, allowing many precisely controlled burns. Some launch vehicles such as the Titan II and Ariane 1
through 4 also use hypergolic fuels, although the trend is away from such engines for cost and safety
reasons. N2O4 is an intermediate in the manufacture of nitric acid HNO3, a strong acid and a fairly strong
oxidizing agent.
Nitrogen is notable for the range of explosively unstable compounds that it can produce. Nitrogen triiodide
NI3 is an extremely sensitive contact explosive. Nitrocellulose, produced by nitration of cellulose with nitric
acid, is also known as guncotton. Nitroglycerin, made by nitration of glycerin, is the dangerously unstable
explosive ingredient of dynamite. The comparatively stable, but less powerful explosive trinitrotoluene
(TNT) is the standard explosive against which the power of nuclear explosions are measured.[34]
Nitrogen can also be found in many organic compounds. Common nitrogen functional groups include:
amines, amides, nitro groups, imines, and enamines. The amount of nitrogen in a chemical substance can be
determined by the Kjeldahl method.

Applications

Nitrogen gas
Nitrogen gas has a variety of applications, including serving as an inert replacement for air where oxidation
is undesirable;[35]
As a modified atmosphere, pure or mixed with carbon dioxide, to nitrogenate and preserve the
freshness of packaged or bulk foods (by delaying rancidity and other forms of oxidative damage).
Pure nitrogen as food additive is labeled in the European Union with the E number E941.[36]
In incandescent light bulbs as an inexpensive alternative to argon.[37]
In photolithography in deep ultraviolet, nitrogenation is used to avoid the strong oxygen absorption of
UV at these wavelengths.
Dried and pressurized, as a dielectric gas for high-voltage equipment.
The manufacturing of stainless steel.[38]
Used in some aircraft fuel systems to reduce fire hazard, (see inerting system).[39]
On top of liquid explosives as a safety measure.
Filling race cars and aircraft tires[40] due to its lower thermal expansion and lack of moisture or
oxidative qualities, as opposed to air.
Nitrogen is commonly used during sample preparation procedures for chemical analysis. It is used to
concentrate and reduce the volume of liquid samples. Directing a pressurized stream of nitrogen gas
perpendicular to the surface of the liquid allows the solvent to evaporate while leaving the solute(s) and unevaporated solvent behind.[41]
Nitrogen can be used as a replacement, or in combination with, carbon dioxide to pressurize kegs of some
beers, particularly stouts and British ales, due to the smaller bubbles it produces, which makes the dispensed
beer smoother and headier.[42] A pressure-sensitive nitrogen capsule known commonly as a "widget" allows
nitrogen-charged beers to be packaged in cans and bottles.[43][44]
Nitrogen tanks are also replacing carbon dioxide as the main power source for paintball guns. Nitrogen must
be kept at higher pressure than CO2, making N2 tanks heavier and more expensive.[45]
Nitrogen gas has become the inert gas of choice for inert gas asphyxiation, and is under consideration as a
replacement for lethal injection in Oklahoma.[46] Nitrogen is promoted by euthanasia advocate Philip
Nitschke to end life in a "peaceful, reliable [and] totally legal" manner.[47]

Liquid nitrogen
Liquid nitrogen is a cryogenic liquid. At atmospheric pressure, it boils at 195.8 C (320.4 F). When
insulated in proper containers such as Dewar flasks, it can be transported without much evaporative loss.[48]
Like dry ice, the main use of liquid nitrogen is as a refrigerant. Among other things, it is used in the
cryopreservation of blood, reproductive cells (sperm and egg), and other biological samples and materials. It
is used in the clinical setting in cryotherapy to remove cysts and warts on the skin.[49] It is used in cold traps
for certain laboratory equipment and to cool infrared detectors or X-ray detectors. It has also been used to
cool central processing units and other devices in computers that are overclocked, and that produce more
heat than during normal operation.[50]

Nitrogen compounds

Molecular nitrogen (N2) in the atmosphere is relatively non-reactive


due to its strong triple bond, NN, and molecular nitrogen plays an
inert role in the human body, being neither produced nor destroyed.
In nature, nitrogen is converted into biologically (and industrially)
useful compounds by lightning, and by some living organisms,
notably certain bacteria (i.e., nitrogen-fixing bacteriasee Biological
role below). Molecular nitrogen is released into the atmosphere in
the process of decay, in dead plant and animal tissues.
The ability to combine, or fix, molecular nitrogen is a key feature of
Air balloon submerged in liquid
modern industrial chemistry. Previously to the 20th century, access to
nitrogen
nitrogen compounds for fertilizers and gunpowder had been through
deposits of natural nitrates, such as Chilean saltpeter. However, first
the FrankCaro process for producing cyanamide, and then the HaberBosch process for producing
ammonia from air and natural gas[14] (developed just before the first world war) eased this shortage of
nitrogen compounds, to the extent that half of global food production now relies on synthetic nitrogen
fertilizers.
The Ostwald process, developed a few years before the Haber process, allowed large-scale production of
nitric acid and nitrate from ammonia, thus freeing large-scale industrial production of nitrate explosives and
weapons propellants from the need to mine nitrate salt deposits.[35] The organic and inorganic salts of nitric
acid have been important historically as convenient stores of chemical energy for warfare and rocket fuels.
Historically, such compounds included important compounds such as potassium nitrate, used in
gunpowder[51] which was often produced by biological means (bacterial fermentation) before natural
mineral sources were discovered. Later, all such sources were displaced by industrial production, in the early
1900s.
Ammonium nitrate has been used as both
fertilizer[30] and explosive (see ANFO).
Various other nitrated organic compounds, such
as nitroglycerin, trinitrotoluene,[51] and
nitrocellulose,[52] are used as explosives and
propellants for modern firearms. Nitric acid is
Table tennis ball made from nitrocellulose.
used as an oxidizing agent in liquid fueled
rockets. Hydrazine and hydrazine derivatives
find use as rocket fuels and monopropellants. In most of these compounds, the basic instability and tendency
to burn or explode is derived from the fact that nitrogen is present as an oxide, and not as the far more stable
nitrogen molecule (N2), which is a product of the compounds' thermal decomposition. When nitrates burn or
explode, the formation of the powerful triple bond in the N2 produces most of the energy of the reaction.
Nitrogen is a constituent of molecules in every major drug class in pharmacology and medicine. Nitrous
oxide (N2O) was discovered early in the 19th century to be a partial anesthetic, though it was not used as a
surgical anesthetic until later. Called "laughing gas", it was found capable of inducing a state of social
disinhibition resembling drunkenness. Other notable nitrogen-containing drugs are drugs derived from plant
alkaloids, such as morphine (there exist many alkaloids known to have pharmacological effects; in some
cases, they appear as natural chemical defenses of plants against predation). Drugs that contain nitrogen
include all major classes of antibiotics and organic nitrate drugs like nitroglycerin and nitroprusside that
regulate blood pressure and heart action by mimicking the action of nitric oxide.

Biological role
Nitrogen is an essential building block of amino and nucleic acids, essential to life on Earth.[30]
Elemental nitrogen in the atmosphere cannot be used directly by either plants or animals, and must be
converted to a reduced (or 'fixed') state to be useful for higher plants and animals. Precipitation often
contains substantial quantities of ammonium and nitrate, thought to result from nitrogen fixation by
lightning and other atmospheric electric phenomena.[53] This was first proposed by Liebig in 1827 and later
confirmed.[53] However, because ammonium is preferentially retained by the forest canopy relative to
atmospheric nitrate, most fixed nitrogen reaches the soil surface under trees as nitrate. Soil nitrate is
preferentially assimilated by tree roots relative to soil ammonium.[54]
Specific bacteria (e.g., Rhizobium trifolium) possess nitrogenase enzymes that can fix atmospheric nitrogen
(see nitrogen fixation) into a form (ammonium ion) that is chemically useful to higher organisms. This
process requires a large amount of energy and anoxic conditions. Such bacteria may live freely in soil (e.g.,
Azotobacter) but normally exist in a symbiotic relationship in the root nodules of leguminous plants (e.g.
clover, Trifolium, or soybean plant, Glycine max) and fertilizer trees. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria are also
symbiotic with a number of unrelated plant species such as alders (Alnus) spp., lichens, Casuarina, Myrica,
liverworts, and Gunnera.[55]
As part of the symbiotic relationship, the plant converts the 'fixed' ammonium ion to nitrogen oxides and
amino acids to form proteins and other molecules, (e.g., alkaloids). In return for the 'fixed' nitrogen, the plant
secretes sugars to the symbiotic bacteria.[55] Legumes maintain an anaerobic (oxygen free) environment for
their nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
Plants are able to assimilate nitrogen directly in the form of nitrates that may be present in soil from natural
mineral deposits, artificial fertilizers, animal waste, or organic decay (as the product of bacteria, but not
bacteria specifically associated with the plant). Nitrates absorbed in this fashion are converted to nitrites by
the enzyme nitrate reductase, and then converted to ammonia by another enzyme called nitrite reductase.[55]
Nitrogen compounds are basic building blocks in animal biology as well. Animals use nitrogen-containing
amino acids from plant sources as starting materials for all nitrogen-compound animal biochemistry,
including the manufacture of proteins and nucleic acids. Plant-feeding insects are dependent on nitrogen in
their diet, such that varying the amount of nitrogen fertilizer applied to a plant can affect the reproduction
rate of insects feeding on fertilized plants.[56]
Soluble nitrate is an important limiting factor in the growth of certain bacteria in ocean waters.[57] In many
places in the world, artificial fertilizers applied to crop-lands to increase yields result in run-off delivery of
soluble nitrogen to oceans at river mouths. This process can result in eutrophication of the water, as
nitrogen-driven bacterial growth depletes water oxygen to the point that all higher organisms die. Wellknown "dead zone" areas in the U.S. Gulf Coast and the Black Sea are due to this important polluting
process.
Many saltwater fish manufacture large amounts of trimethylamine oxide to protect them from the high
osmotic effects of their environment; conversion of this compound to dimethylamine is responsible for the
early odor in unfresh saltwater fish.[58] In animals, free radical nitric oxide (NO) (derived from an amino
acid), serves as an important regulatory molecule for circulation.[57]

Nitric oxide's rapid reaction with water in animals results in production of its metabolite nitrite. Animal
metabolism of nitrogen in proteins, in general, results in excretion of urea, while animal metabolism of
nucleic acids results in excretion of urea and uric acid. The characteristic odor of animal flesh decay is
caused by the creation of long-chain, nitrogen-containing amines, such as putrescine and cadaverine, which
are breakdown products of the amino acids ornithine and lysine, respectively, in decaying proteins.[59]
Decay of organisms and their waste products may produce small amounts of nitrate, but most decay
eventually returns nitrogen content to the atmosphere, as molecular nitrogen. The circulation of nitrogen
from atmosphere, to organic compounds, then back to the atmosphere, is referred to as the nitrogen cycle.[55]

Safety
Rapid release of nitrogen gas into an enclosed space can displace oxygen, and therefore presents an
asphyxiation hazard. This may happen with few warning symptoms, since the human carotid body is a
relatively poor and slow low-oxygen (hypoxia) sensing system.[60] An example occurred shortly before the
launch of the first Space Shuttle mission in 1981, when two technicians lost consciousness (and one of them
died) after they walked into a space located in the Shuttle's Mobile Launcher Platform that was pressurized
with pure nitrogen as a precaution against fire. The technicians would have been able to exit the room if they
had experienced any early symptoms from nitrogen-breathing.
When inhaled at high partial pressures (more than about 4 bar, encountered at depths below about 30 m in
scuba diving), nitrogen begins to act as an anesthetic agent. It can cause nitrogen narcosis, a temporary semianesthetized state of mental impairment similar to that caused by nitrous oxide.[61][62]
Nitrogen also dissolves in the bloodstream and body fats. Rapid decompression (in particular, in the case of
divers ascending too quickly, or astronauts decompressing too quickly from cabin pressure to spacesuit
pressure) can lead to a potentially fatal condition called decompression sickness (formerly known as caisson
sickness or the bends), when nitrogen bubbles form in the bloodstream, nerves, joints, and other sensitive or
vital areas.[63][64] Bubbles from other "inert" gases (those gases other than carbon dioxide and oxygen)
cause the same effects, so replacement of nitrogen in breathing gases may prevent nitrogen narcosis, but
does not prevent decompression sickness.[65]
Direct skin contact with liquid nitrogen will cause severe frostbite (cryogenic "burns"). This may happen
almost instantly on contact, or after a second or more, depending on the form of liquid nitrogen. Bulk liquid
nitrogen causes less rapid freezing than a spray of nitrogen mist (such as is used to freeze certain skin
growths in the practice of dermatology). The extra surface area provided by nitrogen-soaked materials is
also important, with soaked clothing or cotton causing far more rapid damage than a spill of direct liquid to
skin. Full "contact" between naked skin and large collected-droplets or pools of liquid nitrogen may be
prevented for a second or two, by a layer of insulating gas from the Leidenfrost effect. This may give the
skin a second of protection from nitrogen bulk liquid. However, liquid nitrogen applied to skin in mists, and
on fabrics, bypasses this effect, and causes local frostbite immediately.
Oxygen sensors are sometimes used as a safety precaution when working with liquid nitrogen to alert
workers of gas spills into a confined space.[66]

See also
Reactive nitrogen species

Yeast assimilable nitrogen


Nitrogen deficiency in plants
nitrogen execution

Notes
a. Nitrogen and its compounds are far more common in atmospheres of smaller rocky moons and planets than neon,
due to nitrogen being less volatile than neon.

References

1. Conventional Atomic Weights 2013 (http://www.ciaaw.org/pubs/TSAW2013_xls.xls). Commission on Isotopic


Abundances and Atomic Weights
2. Standard Atomic Weights 2013 (http://www.ciaaw.org/atomic-weights.htm). Commission on Isotopic Abundances
and Atomic Weights
3. Lavoisier, Antoine Laurent (1965). Elements of chemistry, in a new systematic order: containing all the modern
discoveries (http://books.google.com/?id=yS_m3PrVbpgC&pg=PR15). Courier Dover Publications. p. 15. ISBN 0486-64624-6.
4. Weeks, Mary Elvira (1932). "The discovery of the elements. IV. Three important gases". Journal of Chemical
Education 9 (2): 215. Bibcode:1932JChEd...9..215W (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1932JChEd...9..215W).
doi:10.1021/ed009p215 (https://dx.doi.org/10.1021%2Fed009p215).
5. Aaron J. Ihde, The Development of Modern Chemistry, New York 1964.
6. Elements of Chemistry, trans. Robert Kerr (Edinburgh, 1790; New York: Dover, 1965), 52.
7. nitrogen (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=nitrogen). Etymonline.com. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
8. Lord Rayleigh's Active Nitrogen (http://www.lateralscience.co.uk/activen/index.html). Lateralscience.co.uk.
Retrieved 2011-10-26.
9. Erisman, Jan Willem; Sutton, Mark A.; Galloway, James; Klimont, Zbigniew; Winiwarter, Wilfried (2008). "How a
century of ammonia synthesis changed the world". Nature Geoscience 1 (10): 636. Bibcode:2008NatGe...1..636E
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008NatGe...1..636E). doi:10.1038/ngeo325 (https://dx.doi.org/10.1038%2Fngeo325).
10. Reich, Murray.; Kapenekas, Harry. (1957). "Nitrogen Purfication. Pilot Plant Removal of Oxygen". Industrial &
Engineering Chemistry 49 (5): 869873. doi:10.1021/ie50569a032 (https://dx.doi.org/10.1021%2Fie50569a032).
11. Bartlett, J. K. (1967). "Analysis for nitrite by evolution of nitrogen: A general chemistry laboratory experiment".
Journal of Chemical Education 44 (8): 475. Bibcode:1967JChEd..44..475B
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1967JChEd..44..475B). doi:10.1021/ed044p475
(https://dx.doi.org/10.1021%2Fed044p475).
12. Eremets, M. I.; Popov, M. Y.; Trojan, I. A.; Denisov, V. N.; Boehler, R.; Hemley, R. J. (2004). "Polymerization of
nitrogen in sodium azide". The Journal of Chemical Physics 120 (22): 1061810623.
Bibcode:2004JChPh.12010618E (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004JChPh.12010618E). doi:10.1063/1.1718250
(https://dx.doi.org/10.1063%2F1.1718250). PMID 15268087 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15268087).
13. Lide, D. R., ed. (2003). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (84th ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
14. Gray, Theodore (2009). The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe. New York: Black
Dog & Leventhal Publishers. ISBN 978-1-57912-814-2.
15. Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, Alan (1997). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann.
ISBN 0080379419.
16. Iancu, C. V.; Wright, E. R.; Heymann, J. B.; Jensen, G. J. (2006). "A comparison of liquid nitrogen and liquid helium
as cryogens for electron cryotomography". Journal of Structural Biology 153 (3): 231240.
doi:10.1016/j.jsb.2005.12.004 (https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jsb.2005.12.004). PMID 16427786
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16427786).
17. "A new molecule and a new signature Chemistry tetranitrogen"
(http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_7_161/ai_83477565). Science News. 16 February 2002.
Retrieved 2007-08-18.
18. "Polymeric nitrogen synthesized" (http://www.physorg.com/news693.html). physorg.com. 5 August 2004. Retrieved
2009-06-22.
19. Fabian, J. & Lewars, E. (2004). "Azabenzenes (azines)The nitrogen derivatives of benzene with one to six N
atoms: Stability, homodesmotic stabilization energy, electron distribution, and magnetic ring current; a computational

20.
21.

22.

23.

24.

25.
26.

27.

28.

29.

30.
31.
32.

33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.

study" (http://pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/rp/rppdf/v03-178.pdf) (PDF). Canadian Journal of Chemistry 82 (1): 5069.


doi:10.1139/v03-178 (https://dx.doi.org/10.1139%2Fv03-178).
Muir, B. Cubane (http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/local/projects/b_muir/Cubane/Cubanepro/Start.html). (See "further topics"
section.)
Patil, Ujwala N.; Dhumal, Nilesh R. & Gejji, Shridhar P. (2004). "Theoretical studies on the molecular electron
densities and electrostatic potentials in azacubanes" (http://www.springerlink.com/content/w3pap8xmmju00j3e/).
Theoretica Chimica Acta 112: 2732. doi:10.1007/s00214-004-0551-2 (https://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2Fs00214-0040551-2).
Bethe, H. A. (1939). "Energy Production in Stars". Physical Review 55 (5): 43456. Bibcode:1939PhRv...55..434B
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1939PhRv...55..434B). doi:10.1103/PhysRev.55.434
(https://dx.doi.org/10.1103%2FPhysRev.55.434).
Audi, G.; Wapstra, A. H.; Thibault, C.; Blachot, J. & Bersillon, O. (2003). "The NUBASE evaluation of nuclear and
decay properties" (http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/amdc/nubase/Nubase2003.pdf) (PDF). Nuclear Physics A 729: 3128.
Bibcode:2003NuPhA.729....3A (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2003NuPhA.729....3A).
doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysa.2003.11.001 (https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.nuclphysa.2003.11.001).
Flanagan, Lawrence B.; Ehleringer, James R; Pataki, Diane E. (15 December 2004). Stable Isotopes and Biosphere Atmosphere Interactions: Processes and Biological Controls (http://books.google.de/books?
id=U9y3whFC2DIC&pg=PA74). pp. 7475. ISBN 9780080525280.
"Atomic Weights and Isotopic Compositions for Nitrogen" (http://physics.nist.gov/cgibin/Compositions/stand_alone.pl?ele=N). NIST. Retrieved 2013-05-22.
Neeb, Karl Heinz (1997). The Radiochemistry of Nuclear Power Plants with Light Water Reactors
(http://books.google.de/books?id=SJOE00whg44C&pg=PA227). Berlin-New York: Walter de Gruyter. p. 227.
ISBN 3-11-013242-7.
Worley, R. (1943). "Absorption Spectrum of N2 in the Extreme Ultraviolet". Physical Review 64 (78): 207.
Bibcode:1943PhRv...64..207W (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1943PhRv...64..207W). doi:10.1103/PhysRev.64.207
(https://dx.doi.org/10.1103%2FPhysRev.64.207).
Schrock, R. R. (2005). "Catalytic Reduction of Dinitrogen to Ammonia at a Single Molybdenum Center"
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2551323). Acc. Chem. Res. 38 (12): 955962.
doi:10.1021/ar0501121 (https://dx.doi.org/10.1021%2Far0501121). PMC 2551323
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2551323). PMID 16359167
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16359167).
Fryzuk, M. D. & Johnson, S. A. (2000). "The continuing story of dinitrogen activation". Coordination Chemistry
Reviews. 200202: 379. doi:10.1016/S0010-8545(00)00264-2 (https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2FS00108545%2800%2900264-2).
Emsley, p. 360
Croswell, Ken (February 1996). Alchemy of the Heavens (http://kencroswell.com/alchemy.html). Anchor. ISBN 0385-47214-5.
Meyer, Daved M.; Cardelli, Jason A.; Sofia, Ulysses J. (1997). "Abundance of Interstellar Nitrogen". The
Astrophysical Journal 490: L103L106. arXiv:astro-ph/9710162 (https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9710162).
Bibcode:1997ApJ...490L.103M (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1997ApJ...490L.103M). doi:10.1086/311023
(https://dx.doi.org/10.1086%2F311023).
Hamilton, Calvin J. "Titan (Saturn VI)" (http://www.solarviews.com/eng/titan.htm). Solarviews.com. Retrieved
2007-12-24.
Hring, Heinz-Wolfgang (2008). Industrial Gases Processing (http://books.google.com/books?
id=4XNBJIrdK9wC&pg=PA243). John Wiley & Sons. pp. 243. ISBN 978-3-527-62125-5. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
Emsley, p. 364
Ministers, Nordic Council of (2002). "Food Additives in Europe 2000" (http://books.google.de/books?id=Fvmsqd90-oC&pg=PA591). p. 591. ISBN 9789289308298.
Harding, Charlie, ed. (2002). Elements of the p Block (http://books.google.com/?id=W0HW8wgmQQsC&pg=PA90).
Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry. ISBN 978-0-85404-690-4.
Gavriliuk, V. G.; Berns, Hans (1999). High nitrogen steels: structure, properties, manufacture, applications
(http://books.google.com/?id=6eF4AfEwF4YC&pg=PA338). Springer. ISBN 3-540-66411-4.
"Centre Fuel Tank Inerting" (http://www.b737.org.uk/fuel.htm#Centre_Fuel_Tank_Inerting). B737.org.uk. Retrieved
2013-08-21.
"Why don't they use normal air in race car tires?" (http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question594.htm). Howstuffworks.
Retrieved 2006-07-22.
Kemmochi, Y; Tsutsumi, K; Arikawa, A; Nakazawa, H (2002). "Centrifugal concentrator for the substitution of
nitrogen blow-down micro-concentration in dioxin/polychlorinated biphenyl sample preparation". Journal of

42.

43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.

49.

50.
51.
52.

53.
54.

55.
56.

57.
58.

59.

60.
61.

62.

nitrogen blow-down micro-concentration in dioxin/polychlorinated biphenyl sample preparation". Journal of


Chromatography A 943 (2): 295297. doi:10.1016/S0021-9673(01)01466-2 (https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2FS00219673%2801%2901466-2). PMID 11833649 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11833649).
Baxter, E. Denise; Hughes, Paul S. (2001). Beer: Quality, Safety and Nutritional Aspects
(https://books.google.com/books?id=X95O-1_xa0C&pg=PA22&dq=nitrogen+gas+beer&hl=en&sa=X&ei=tAuFVdOIHsuqyAT2gaOwAg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAQ#
v=onepage&q=nitrogen%20gas%20beer&f=false). Royal Society of Chemistry. p. 22. ISBN 9780854045884.
"How does the widget in a beer can work?" (http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/question446.htm). Howstuffworks.
Denny, Mark (1 November 2009). Froth!: The Science of Beer (http://books.google.de/books?
id=ogXc9xTTCVsC&pg=PA131). p. 131. ISBN 9780801895692.
Kennett, Andrew J. "Design of a pneumatically assisted shifting system for Formula SAE racing applications".
hdl:1721.1/45820 (http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1%2F45820).
Sanburn, Josh (2015-04-10). "The Dawn of a New Form of Capital Punishment" (http://time.com/3749879/nitrogengas-execution-oklahoma-lethal-injection/). Time. Retrieved 2015-04-11.
Sexton, Mike (18 December 2012). "Euthanasia campaigner under scrutiny"
(http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2012/s3657550.htm). ABC. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
Kaganer, M. G.; Kozheurov, V. & Levina, Zh. L. (1967). "Vessels for the storage and transport of liquid oxygen and
nitrogen". Chemical and Petroleum Engineering 3 (12): 918922. doi:10.1007/BF01136404
(https://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2FBF01136404).
Ahmed I; Agarwal S; Ilchyshyn A; Charles-Holmes S; Berth-Jones J (May 2001). "Liquid nitrogen cryotherapy of
common warts: cryo-spray vs. cotton wool bud". Br. J. Dermatol. 144 (5): 10069. doi:10.1046/j.13652133.2001.04190.x (https://dx.doi.org/10.1046%2Fj.1365-2133.2001.04190.x). PMID 11359389
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11359389).
Kent, Allen; Williams, James G. (1994). Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology
(http://books.google.com/?id=9fYFiZ7QeEcC&pg=PA318) 30. CRC Press. p. 318. ISBN 0-8247-2283-3.
Emsley, p. 362
Cleveland, David (2002) "Don't Try This at Home: Some Thoughts on Nitrate Film, With Particular Reference to
Home Movie Systems" in Roger Smither and Catherine Surowiec (eds.), This Film is Dangerous: A Celebration of
Nitrate Film, Brussels, FIAF, ISBN 978-2-9600296-0-4, p. 196
Rakov, Vladimir A.; Uman, Martin A. (2007). Lightning: Physics and Effects (http://books.google.com/?
id=TuMa5lAa3RAC&pg=PA508). Cambridge University Press. p. 508. ISBN 978-0-521-03541-5.
Jama, Bashir; Ndufa, J. K.; Buresh, R. J.; Shepherd, K. D. "Vertical Distribution of Roots and Soil Nitrate: Tree
Species and Phosphorus Effects" (https://www.crops.org/publications/sssaj/abstracts/62/1/SS0620010280?
access=0&view=pdf) 62 (1). Soil Science Society of America Journal. pp. 280286. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
Bothe, Hermann; Ferguson, Stuart John; Newton, William Edward (2007). Biology of the nitrogen cycle
(http://books.google.com/?id=qmZDpnV-sYYC&pg=PA283). Elsevier. p. 283. ISBN 0-444-52857-1.
Jahn, G.C.; Almazan, Liberty P.; Pacia, Jocelyn B. (2005). "Effect of nitrogen fertilizer on the intrinsic rate of
increase of the rusty plum aphid, Hysteroneura setariae (Thomas) (Homoptera: Aphididae) on rice (Oryza sativa
L.)" (http://puck.esa.catchword.org/vl=33435372/cl=21/nw=1/rpsv/cw/esa/0046225x/v34n4/s26/p938).
Environmental Entomology 34 (4): 938943. doi:10.1603/0046-225X-34.4.938 (https://dx.doi.org/10.1603%2F0046225X-34.4.938).
Knox, G. A. (2007). Biology of the Southern Ocean (http://books.google.com/?id=qPuCVvAv2GwC&pg=PA392).
CRC Press. p. 392. ISBN 0-8493-3394-6.
Nielsen, M. K.; Jrgensen, B. M. (Jun 2004). "Quantitative relationship between trimethylamine oxide aldolase
activity and formaldehyde accumulation in white muscle from gadiform fish during frozen storage". Journal of
Agricultural and Food Chemistry 52 (12): 38143822. doi:10.1021/jf035169l
(https://dx.doi.org/10.1021%2Fjf035169l). PMID 15186102 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15186102).
Vickerstaff Joneja; Janice M. (2004). Digestion, diet, and disease: irritable bowel syndrome and gastrointestinal
function (http://books.google.com/?id=RMPis9OnJxkC&pg=PT121). Rutgers University Press. p. 121. ISBN 08135-3387-2.
"Biology Safety Cryogenic materials. The risks posed by them." (http://www.bath.ac.uk/internal/biosci/bbsafe/asphyx.htm). University of Bath. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
Fowler, B.; Ackles, K.N.; Porlier, G. (1985). "Effects of inert gas narcosis on behaviora critical review"
(http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/3019). Undersea Biomed. Res. 12 (4): 369402. PMID 4082343
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4082343). Retrieved 2008-09-21.
Rogers, W. H.; Moeller, G. (1989). "Effect of brief, repeated hyperbaric exposures on susceptibility to nitrogen
narcosis" (http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/2522). Undersea Biomed. Res. 16 (3): 22732. OCLC 2068005
(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/2068005). PMID 2741255 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2741255).

63.

64.

65.
66.

Retrieved 2008-09-21.
Acott, C. (1999). "A brief history of diving and decompression illness" (http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/6004).
South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society Journal 29 (2). OCLC 16986801
(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/16986801). Retrieved 2008-09-21.
Kindwall, E. P.; Baz, A.; Lightfoot, E. N.; Lanphier, E. H.; Seireg, A. (1975). "Nitrogen elimination in man during
decompression" (http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/2741). Undersea Biomed. Res. 2 (4): 28597. OCLC 2068005
(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/2068005). PMID 1226586 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1226586).
Retrieved 2008-09-21.
US Navy Diving Manual, 6th revision (http://www.supsalv.org/00c3_publications.asp?destPage=00c3&pageID=3.9).
United States: US Naval Sea Systems Command. 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
Liquid Nitrogen Code of practice for handling (http://www.bbk.ac.uk/so/policies/liqn2). United Kingdom:
Birkbeck, University of London. 2007. Retrieved 2012-02-08.

Bibliography
Emsley, John (2011). Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements (New ed.). New York,
NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-960563-7.

Further reading
Garrett, Reginald H.; Grisham, Charles M. (1999). Biochemistry (2nd ed.). Fort Worth: Saunders

College Publ. ISBN 0-03-022318-0.

External links
Etymology of Nitrogen (http://www.balashon.com/2008/07/neter-and-nitrogen.html)
Nitrogen (http://www.periodicvideos.com/videos/007.htm) at The Periodic Table of Videos (University
of Nottingham)
Nitrogen podcast (http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/podcast/7/nitrogen) from the Royal Society of
Chemistry's Chemistry World
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nitrogen&oldid=669558061"
Categories: Nitrogen Chemical elements Pnictogens Diatomic nonmetals Coolants
Laser gain media Biology and pharmacology of chemical elements Dielectric gases Industrial gases
GABAA receptor positive allosteric modulators
This page was last modified on 2 July 2015, at 00:24.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

You might also like