INERT GAS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does inert gas mean? 

• INERT GAS (noun)
  The noun INERT GAS has 1 sense:

1. any of the chemically inert gaseous elements of the helium group in the periodic table

  Familiarity information: INERT GAS used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INERT GAS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of the chemically inert gaseous elements of the helium group in the periodic table

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

argonon; inert gas; noble gas

Hypernyms ("inert gas" is a kind of...):

chemical element; element (any of the more than 100 known substances (of which 92 occur naturally) that cannot be separated into simpler substances and that singly or in combination constitute all matter)

gas (a fluid in the gaseous state having neither independent shape nor volume and being able to expand indefinitely)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "inert gas"):

Ar; argon; atomic number 18 (a colorless and odorless inert gas; one of the six inert gases; comprises approximately 1% of the earth's atmosphere)

atomic number 2; He; helium (a very light colorless element that is one of the six inert gasses; the most difficult gas to liquefy; occurs in economically extractable amounts in certain natural gases (as those found in Texas and Kansas))

atomic number 36; Kr; krypton (a colorless element that is one of the six inert gasses; occurs in trace amounts in air)

atomic number 10; Ne; neon (a colorless odorless gaseous element that give a red glow in a vacuum tube; one of the six inert gasses; occurs in the air in small amounts)

atomic number 86; radon; Rn (a radioactive gaseous element formed by the disintegration of radium; the heaviest of the inert gasses; occurs naturally (especially in areas over granite) and is considered a hazard to health)

atomic number 54; Xe; xenon (a colorless odorless inert gaseous element occurring in the earth's atmosphere in trace amounts)

 Context examples 

A technique where a sample is heated and degassed to remove contaminants, followed by exposure to doses of an inert gas.

(Gas Sorption, NCI Thesaurus)