n. Symbol Xe A colorless, odorless, highly unreactive gaseous element found in minute quantities in the atmosphere, extracted commercially from liquefied air and used in stroboscopic, bactericidal, and laser-pumping lamps. Atomic number 54; atomic weight 131.29; melting point -111.9?C; boiling point -107.1?C; density (gas) 5.887 grams per liter; specific gravity (liquid) 3.52 (-109?C). See table at element.
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[From Greek, neuter of xenos, foreign, strange. See xeno-.]
Source: The American Heritage? Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright ? 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
So Xenon is a colorless, odorless, unreactive, strange and foreign gas. Very appropriate.
07-06-2004, 03:03 AM
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