Measurable variations in the isotope abundances (and atomic weights) of nitrogen are found in most nitrogen compounds. The vast majority of chemical reagents, manufactured fertilizers, and environmental samples have δ 15 N values between about −15 and +20 ‰ which corresponds to x ( 15 N) = 0.003 61 to 0.003 74 and A r (N) = 14.006 67 to 14.

• The atomic number of nitrogen is 7. Get yourself a periodic table, or download it from the internet. It'll help you with chemistry.
• Skip to page content; Skip to site menu on this page. Periodic Table of Elements Element Nitrogen - N. Comprehensive data on the chemical element Nitrogen is provided on this page; including scores of properties, element names in many languages, most known nuclides of Nitrogen.

Element Nitrogen - N

Comprehensive data on the chemical element Nitrogen is provided on this page; including scores of properties, element names in many languages, most known nuclides of Nitrogen. Common chemical compounds are also provided for many elements. In addition technical terms are linked to their definitions and the menu contains links to related articles that are a great aid in one's studies.

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Overview of Nitrogen

• Atomic Number: 7
• Group: 15
• Period: 2
• Series: Nonmetals

Nitrogen's Name in Other Languages

• Latin: Nitrogenium
• Czech: Dusík
• Croatian: Dušik
• French: Azote
• German: Stickstoff - r
• Italian: Azoto
• Norwegian: Nitrogen
• Portuguese: Nitrogênio
• Russian: Азот
• Spanish: Nitrógeno
• Swedish: Kväve

Atomic Structure of Nitrogen

• Atomic Radius: 0.75Å
• Atomic Volume: 17.3cm³/mol
• Covalent Radius: 0.75Å
• Cross Section (Thermal Neutron Capture) σ_a/barns: 1.91
• Crystal Structure: Hexagonal
• Electron Configuration:

  1s² 2s²p³

• Electrons per Energy Level: 2,5

  Shell Model
  

• Ionic Radius: 0.13Å
• Filling Orbital: 2p³
• Number of Electrons (with no charge): 7
• Number of Neutrons (most common/stable nuclide): 7
• Number of Protons: 7
• Oxidation States:±3,5,4,2
• Valence Electrons: 2s²p³

  Electron Dot Model
  

Chemical Properties of Nitrogen

• Electrochemical Equivalent: 0.10452g/amp-hr
• Electron Work Function:
• Electronegativity: 3.04 (Pauling); 3.07 (Allrod Rochow)
• Heat of Fusion: 0.3604kJ/mol
• Incompatibilities:
• Ionization Potential
  • First: 14.534
  • Second: 29.601
  • Third: 47.448
• Valence Electron Potential (-eV): 550

Physical Properties of Nitrogen

• Atomic Mass Average: 14.00674
• Boiling Point: 77.5K -195.65°C -320.17°F
• Coefficient of lineal thermal expansion/K^-1: N/A
• Conductivity

  Electrical:
  Thermal: 0.0002598 W/cmK

• Density: 1.2506g/L @ 273K & 1atm
• Description:

  Colorless, odorless, tasteless gas

• Enthalpy of Atomization: 472.8 kJ/mole @ 25°C
• Enthalpy of Fusion: 0.36 kJ/mole
• Enthalpy of Vaporization: 2.79 kJ/mole
• Flammablity Class:
• Freezing Point:see melting point
• Heat of Vaporization: 2.7928kJ/mol
• Melting Point: 63.29K -209.86°C -345.75°F
• Molar Volume: 17.3 cm³/mole
• Optical Refractive Index: 1.000298 (gas) 1.197 (liquid)
• Physical State (at 20°C & 1atm): Gas
• Specific Heat: 1.04J/gK

Regulatory / Health

• CAS Number
  • 7727-37-9
• OSHAPermissible Exposure Limit (PEL)
  • No limits set by OSHA
• OSHA PEL Vacated 1989
  • No limits set by OSHA
• NIOSHRecommended Exposure Limit (REL)
  • No limits set by NIOSH
• Levels In Humans:
  Note: this data represents naturally occuring levels of elements in the typical human, it DOES NOT represent recommended daily allowances.
  • Blood/mg dm^-3: 34300
  • Bone/p.p.m: 43000
  • Liver/p.p.m: 72000
  • Muscle/p.p.m: 72000
  • Daily Dietary Intake: n/a
  • Total Mass In Avg. 70kg human: 1.8 kg
• Discovery Year: 1772
• Name Origin:

  Greek: zôê (vie).

• Abundance of Nitrogen:
  • Earth's Crust/p.p.m.: 25
  • Seawater/p.p.m.:
    • Atlantic Suface: 0.00008
    • Atlantic Deep: 0.27
    • Pacific Surface: 0.00008
    • Pacific Deep: 0.54
  • Atmosphere/p.p.m.: 780900
  • Sun (Relative to H=1E¹²): 8.71E+07
• Sources of Nitrogen:

  Nitrogen can be made by liquification and then fractional distillation of the air. It is very easily done commercially. It can also be made by heating NaN3 to 300 degrees C. Annual world wide production is around 44,000,000 tons.

• Uses of Nitrogen:

  Nitrogen has many industrial uses in the gaseous forms, but probably the most interesting is liquid nitrogen, which is extremely cold. Items that must be frozen to extremely low temperatures for preservation are frequently stored in liquid nitrogen. Fertility clinics store sperm, eggs and embryos used to help infertile couples become pregnant in ampoules in liquid nitrogen.Since nitrogen gas is very stable, at standard temperature and pressure, it is used as the air in inert welding atmospheres. Documents, foods and chemicals are sometimes stored in nitrogen to keep them from oxidizing or reacting with air or water.

• Additional Notes:

  Nitrogen in the elemental form was considered to be inert and was even named ozote which refers to the fact that it is not reactive. Of course nitrogen does form compounds, but the gaseous form consists of diamers (2 nitrogens bonded together). The diamer is very stable.

  Nitrogen is a major element in organic compounds, especially proteins. Some nitrogen compounds are highly reactive. Trinitrotoluene is TNT or dynamite. Ammonium Nitrate is a fertilizer, but was used as the major explosive ingredient in the Oklahoma City bombing. Anfo, or Ammonium Nitrate and fuel oil mixture is the primary explosive used in the mining industry because it is inexpensive, easy to manufacture and can be easily manufactured near the mine site thus reducing the risks and expenses related to the transportation of explosives. Nitrates, Nitrites and Azides (all nitrogen compounds are either oxidizers or reactives and will react violently under the right conditions.

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References

A list of reference sources used to compile the data provided on our periodic table of elements can be found on the main periodic table page.

Related Resources

• Anatomy of the Atom
  Answers many questions regarding the structure of atoms.
• Molarity, Molality and Normality
  Introduces stoichiometry and explains the differences between molarity, molality and normality.
• Molar Mass Calculations and Javascript Calculator
  Molar mass calculations are explained and there is a JavaScript calculator to aid calculations.
• Chemical Database
  This database focuses on the most common chemical compounds used in the home and industry.

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Nitrogen is a chemical element with symbol N and atomic number 7. It was first discovered and isolated by Scottish physician Daniel Rutherford in 1772.

History and Discovery

Nitrogen is one of the prehsitric elements. And its use as ammonium chdirde has been known to Herodotus, Middle Ages civilizations and Alchemists. It was known as aqua fortis the strong water. And mixture of hydrochloric and nitric acid was formed that has the ability to dissolve the Nobel metal and the king of metals, gold. The solution was termed as aqua regia (royal water) [1]. Nitrogen was discovered as a novel element by Daniel Rutherford (1722) and he termed it as the noxious air [2]. He found that it was that component of the air that did not support combustion. During the same time, several other chemists, including Joseph Priestly, Wilhelm Scheele and Henry Cavendish carried out various experiments to discover and identify nitrogen and they termed it as phlogisticated air or burnt air. Earlier, Antoine Lavoisier used the term azote (Greek) meaning no life for nitrogen, which later became choke or to suffocate and the term pnictogens (Greek for choke) was assigned to Group 15 due to nitrogen. In 1970, nitrogene (French word) was given to the element by Antoine Chaptal and in 1974 it became nitrogen in English language. Sodium nitrate and potassium nitrate (then termed as saltpeter) were the earliest known compounds of nitrogen that has various industrial, military and agricultural applications.

Nitrogen

Occurrence

Nitrogen is a very common element, both on Earth and in the universe. It is ranked as the 7^th most abundant element in the universe and is present in the Solar System and the Milky Way. If forms a distinct surface coverage on Pluto. In diatomic form, N₂ gas is the most abundant free element in the Earth’s atmosphere and makes about 78% of it, along with oxygen, carbon dioxide etc. Nitrogen is also prevalent in the living systems, as it is part of various vital components of a living organism, including proteins, amino acids, DNA, RNA and in the energy currency of the cell, ATP. It is considered as the 4^th most abundant element in the human body and makes about 3% by mass of the body. A specialized cycle keeps the natural balance of nitrogen between the biotic and abiotic component (atmosphere, organic compounds and biosphere) of the ecosystem in order.

Physical Characteristics

Nitrogen is a colorless and odorless gas. Liquid nitrogen resembles water in its appearance, as it is colorless. Nitrogen is a very light gas and is the lightest gas in its group (Group 15). Molecular nitrogen undergoes liquefaction at -195.79C and freezes at -210 C and acquire a beta hexagonal structural assembly [3]. The alpha phase is another allotropic form of nitrogen that it acquires by arranging in a cubic crystal when exposed to temperature lower than -237C. The density of liquid nitrogen is 0.808 g/mL which is about 80.8% denser than water.

Chemical Characteristics

Nitrogen is very reactive. The triple bonds present in N₂ are extremely strong and in fact are the second strongest bonds in elemental chemistry. Except for Nobel gases, nitrogen can react with almost every element in the periodic table and forms nitrides.

Significance and Uses

• Nitrogen is widely used in the manufacturing of nitrates and ammonia that are considered as the key fertilizers all over the world.
• Nitrogen is used to make adhesives and glues (in the form of cyanoacrylate).
• Nitrogen is used in to manufacture high quality stainless steel.
• Nitrogen is used to make high-strength fabric, that can withstand tearing and wearing.
• Nitrogen is widely used in pharmaceutical industry for the manufacturing of various drugs including antibiotics, and hypertension controlling drugs (nitroglycerin).
• Nitrogen is used to inflate tires of aircraft and race cars instead of natural air.
• Nitrogen is used as a coolant or refrigerant and used for cryopreservation purposes of biological tissues, cells and blood.

Health Hazards

Nitrogen is non-toxic in elemental form and at normal atmospheric pressure. When inhaled in an enclosed space or at high partial pressure, it can prove to be very toxic. Such incidents are common in astronauts and scuba divers, as they are exposed to high levels of nitrogen. Inhalation of nitrogen at a partial pressure more than 4 bar can cause severe tissue damages and mental disorders. Nitrogen can displace oxygen and readily dissolves in body fats and blood and cause decompression sickness, which can sometimes prove to be fatal.

Isotopes of Nitrogen

There are two stable isotope of nitrogen, nitrogen-14 and nitogen-15. Nitrogen-14 is very abundant and makes about 99.6% of naturally occurring nitrogen. There isotopes are produced in the stars. Nitrogen-15 was discovered in 1929 by S.M. Naude. There are ten artificially produced radioactive isotopes of nitrogen, ranging from nitrogen-12 to nitrogen-23.

REFERENCES

[1]. Greenwood and Earnshaw, pp. 406–07

How To Find The Atomic Number Of Nitrogen

[2]. Weeks, Mary Elvira (1932). “The discovery of the elements. IV. Three important gases”. Journal of Chemical Education. 9 (2): 215. Bibcode:1932JChEd…9.215W. doi:10.1021/ed009p215.

[3]. Gray, Theodore (2009). The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. ISBN978-1-57912-814-2.

Atomic Nitrogen Representative Particle

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