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School Projects Using Xenon Gas

Xenon is a rare gas found in less than .05 percent of the atmosphere. It belongs to a family of gases known as the noble, or inert, gases. These gases have difficulty reacting to other chemical compounds and only do so under certain conditions. The main industrial use of xenon is in lamps such as headlights and photography flashbulbs. Some school experiments involving xenon gas examine its use in headlights compared to halogen or standard seal lights. Higher level education has experiments that use Xenon to test the properties of electrons, and some use xenon to show how inert gases are capable of reacting with other chemicals.

Xenon Bulbs vs. Halogen Bulbs
- One school experiment involving xenon tests the brightness of xenon headlights versus halogen headlights. Students need access to cars with each type of headlight. To test the brightness, the vehicles are taken to a parking lot on a foggy morning and slowly approach a parking cone. The moment the cone becomes visible, the distance between the cone and vehicle is measured. Students typically test both the standard headlights and specialized fog lamps on the vehicles.
Xenon Bulbs vs. Standard Headlights
- This school experiment involves testing the distance that xenon bulbs shine compared to the distance standard sealed-beam headlights shine. Students stand outside the visible range of the headlight at night and hold colored pieces of paper. They slowly approach the vehicle until the driver can identify the color of the paper the student is holding. The distance is measured for each color, and the overall distances between the two styles of headlights are compared to see which is stronger.
Using Xenon to Test Electrons
- In higher-level studies, xenon can be used to test Bohr's hypothesis regarding the behavior of electrons, namely, that an electron orbiting an atom is restricted to certain frequencies and energy levels. By electrifying xenon gas under controlled laboratory settings students can determine what energy level is required to excite the electrons in xenon molecules into a higher-energy state. It also reveals how much energy, if any, is absorbed by the electron before moving to a higher level. This experiment requires sophisticated lab equipment, such as a Franck Hertz Experiment Board, and may only be available to students in advanced study programs.
Xenon as a Reactive Noble Gas
- Higher level students may also recreate the experiment that proved that inert gasses can, in fact, react with other chemical compounds. The experiment itself is relatively simple. One sealed glass tube is filled with xenon gas and another is filled with platinum hexafluoride gas. The seals between the tubes are broken and, as the gases react, a bright orange precipitate is formed. This precipitate can be analyzed for chemical composition but its existence proves that xenon gas is reactive with certain chemical compounds.

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