In English, to be inert is to be in a state of doing little or nothing.
In chemistry, the term inert is used to describe something that is not chemically active. The noble gases were described as being inert because they did not react with the other elements or themselves. Now scientists know that the reason that inert gases are completely inert to basic chemical reactions (such as combustion), for example, is because their outer valence shell is completely filled with electrons. With a filled outer valence shell, an inert atom is not able to acquire or lose an electron, and is therefore not able to participate in any chemical reactions. // Introduction The fundamental component of chemistry is that it involves matter in some way (this explains its broad reach). ... The noble gases are the chemical elements in group 18 (old-style Group 0) of the periodic table. ... A reaction is the following: In physics, a reaction (physics) is defined by Newtons third law: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The idea that any given force has a pair or opposite force. ... A chemical element, often called simply element, is a chemical substance that cannot be divided or changed into other chemical substances by any ordinary chemical technique. ... For a List of scientists, see: List of anthropologists List of astronomers List of biologists List of chemists List of computer scientists List of economists List of engineers List of geologists List of inventors List of mathematicians List of meteorologists List of physicists Scientist pairs List of scientist pairs See... An inert gas is any gas that is not reactive under normal circumstances. ... A chemical reaction is a process that results in the interconversion of Chemical substances . ... Combustion or burning is a chemical process, an exothermic reaction between a substance (the fuel) and a gas (the oxidizer), usually O2, to release heat. ... The valence shell is the outermost shell of an atom, which contains the electrons most likely to account for the nature of any reactions involving the atom and of the bonding interactions it has with other atoms. ... Properties The electron (also called negatron, commonly represented as e−) is a subatomic particle. ...
Molecules such as elemental nitrogen, is inert under room conditions and exists as a diatomic molecule, N2. The inertness of nitrogen is due to the presence of the very strong triple covalent bond in the N2 molecule.
For inert atoms or molecules, a lot of energy is involved before it can combine with other elements to form compounds. A high temperature and pressure is necessary, and sometimes requires the presence of a catalyst.
Unlike the noble gases an inert gas is not necessarily elemental and are often molecular gases.
Because of their unreactivity, and perhaps their relative scarcity, the inert gases were not discovered until helium was discovered to exist in the Sun, where it is abundant, before it was discovered to exist in Earth's atmosphere.
The elementalinert gases are usually obtained by evaporating them off from condensed air at their respective vapor pressures.
Inert gases such as helium, argon, and nitrogen are widely used in industrial settings as fire suppression blankets for flammable work in confined spaces, to operate pneumatic equipment, and to prevent oxidation in industrial processes.
When a respirators air line is connected to a source of inert gas rather than to breathable air, the respirator wearer who trusts his/her sense of breathlessness to determine whether he/she is connected to breathing air has little warning before losing consciousness.
This is because the buildup of carbon dioxide, not a lack of oxygen, ordinarily causes the sensation of breathlessness that may alert the individual wearing the respirator.
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