Only one week to Opening Night, which means Fearless is down
to number 7 in the elements of the period table. Who might the Washington Capital we find
here?...
Nitrogen
At what scientists refer to as “standard temperature and
pressure (pretty much what you live in),” nitrogen is virtually inert. It does not do much, does not react with
much. It is, however, a very important
element for how it behaves as an element.
It binds with itself to form the molecule “N2.” This bond between the two atoms of nitrogen
is extremely strong, difficult to break in the process of chemical
reactions. That strong bond reflects a
large amount of stored energy, which is released when compounds containing
nitrogen are subjected to combustion or, in the case of organic materials,
decay. Nitrogen occurs in all organisms,
primarily in proteins and nucleic acids, essential building blocks of life
processes and structures.
Some of the usual suspects (especially those involved in the
discovery of oxygen) were present for the discovery of nitrogen – Carl Wilhelm
Scheele, Joseph Priestly, Antoine Laurent Lavoisier. But it was Daniel Rutherford, a Scottish
chemist, who is credited with discovering it. The problem,
it turned out, was naming the element.
Rutherford called it “fixed air.”
Priestly referred to it as “phlogisticated air.” Lavoisier called it “mephitic air,” then “azote,”
from the Greek word “azotos,” meaning “lifeless.”
The word “nitrogen” would not come for almost another 20
years, and we have Jean-Antoine Chaptal to thank for it. His thinking was logical in a “chemistry”
sense… “nitre” (another name for potassium nitrate, or “salt peter”), from
which nitric acid could be produced, in which “nitrogen” was an essential
element. “Nitrogen” was picked as a
combination of “nitre” and the Greek word “genes,” meaning forming…”nitre
forming,” get it?
Nitrogen has a fair number of practical applications. For instance, it is used as a food
preservative or in fertilizers. It has
applications in electronics and in incandescent light bulbs. It can be used to reduce fire hazards in
environments with fuels present. It can
be a replacement for air in filling tires for high-performance applications
(automotive or aircraft, generally). It
can be used to pressurize kegs of beer or ale.
It is also found in the explosives nitroglycerin and trinitrotoluene
(TNT). It is found in “super glue” and
in Kevlar. In its liquid form it is used
as a refrigerant and can be used for some medical procedures (removing warts,
for example).
Nitrogen is an element that binds strongly with itself,
brings with it a strong binding energy, can be found in a wide variety of
applications, including: agriculture, fire management, food industries,
medicine, refrigeration, and explosives.
Compounds containing nitrogen are very versatile and practical. It might not have a flashy analog among
hockey players, but it does reflect a certain essential and useful
character. Maybe not a top-line center,
but a second-line version who contributes the necessary offense and responsible
defense to make a good team a contender.
Nitrogen…the “Mikhail Grabovski” of the elements of the
periodic table.
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