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Where Has All the Xenon Gone?
LucidBeast writes "Xenon, the second heaviest of the noble gasses, is only found in trace amounts in the atmosphere. Atmosphere contains less xenon than other lighter noble gasses. Missing xenon has perplexed scientists and it has been speculated that it is hiding in the Earth's mantle. Now, a group at the University of Bayreuth in Germany thinks it might have found the answer. It turns out that xenon does not dissolve easily into magnesium silicate perovskite, and thus it cannot hide there. Because it had no place to hide, it is now gone forever."
Found it! It was in the couch.
There is probably a massive government Xenon reserve somewhere, like there is for almost everything else; oil, corn, wheat, your private information, and so on...
which are a fucking hazard
Can I light a sig ?
This will make the Xenonphobes happy.
Canada has a Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve.
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
It'll be found in a country that by coincidence is in need of liberating.
I'm confused: did it go out into upper atmosphere or space like helium (seems unlikely @~10x weight of nitrogen & oxygen), did alchemists turn it into gold or did we overestimate the amount there initially was? not seeing how the "conservation of mass" loop is being closed here...
TFS makes no sense at all; TFA is not much better. It seems that, rather than asking, "Why is there so little xenon in the atmosphere" and coming up with a purely speculative answer, the researchers might have questioned why anyone expected to find more.
I'm confused: did it go out into upper atmosphere or space like helium (seems unlikely @~10x weight of nitrogen & oxygen), did alchemists turn it into gold or did we overestimate the amount there initially was? not seeing how the "conservation of mass" loop is being closed here...
it's assumed it was here after earth formed, by assumptions that the material which earth was formed from had x amount of it.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
...is xenophobic, what hope does mankind have?
Set your phasers on "funky"!
They used the Xenon to make XBox 360's
most new cars I've seen over the past 5-6 years have come with LED headlights. First thing I did when I got the electronics for my bike in 2007 was replace the HIDs with LEDs. They're far more efficient and far more rugged.
Operation Guillotine is in effect.
RTFA. It says that it was probably in the early earth's atmosphere, and the earth's atmosphere was probably blown away by some event, and then re-established itself xenon-free from gasses bubbling up from the molten landscape.
They also wonder why Mars has no xenon.
Free Martian Whores!
"Xenon, the second heaviest of the noble gasses, is only found in trace amounts in the atmosphere.
So far so good.
[The] [a]tmosphere contains less xenon than other lighter noble gasses.
Could be read as meaning that the other noble gasses contain more xenon than the atmosphere, but as a sentence it's passable.
...it is hiding in the earths mantle.
It's called [the] Earth, and you forgot the possesive apostrophe.
Now a group at the University of Bayreuth in Germany think that they might have found the answer.
"The answer," given the context, can only seem to mean that they've found out where the xenon is hiding, but...
I[t] turns out that xenon does not dissolve easily into magnesium silicate perovskite, thus it cannot hide there. And because it had no place to hide, it is now gone forever."
Oh, okay, so "the answer" seems to be "we still don't know, but it's not where we thought it was"? Rather than "it is now gone forever" it seems (from reading one of articles, shock horror) that it was never actually there in the first place - perhaps substituting "come from" in place of "hide" would have made more sense.
Yours sincerely,
Captain Pedantic
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
I interpreted the poorly written article to mean. The forming rocks could absorb the other noble gases just fine, but not xenon. I infer this would have left an atmosphere (at the time) that was rich in xenon since very little of it was absorbed into the rock. The article speculated that some form of meteorite collision or solar event blew off the atmosphere. Leaving me to infer that the atmosphere we have today is the result of the rock releasing gas into the atmosphere. Since the rock was xenon poor, today's atmosphere is also xenon poor as a result.
Actually pretty close. A bunch went into display/effects laser systems in the 1990s, before cheap diode lasers because available in a variety of colours. If you ever saw non-red/non-green lasers at shows in the 1990s, they were either YAG (different tech altogether), or Argon/Neon/Krypton/Xenon blends for different colours. Now they're pretty much all solid-state, and cost $500 instead of around $100k.
most slashdotters are net producers of gasses.
You're thinking CO2 and methane. I'm quite sure I don't produce very much xenon.
I have a fission reactor in my garage. So I am a net producer of radioactive Xenon.
I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
I was confused as hell, but here is what I've gleaned:
1. Most noble gases were dissolved in/embedded in the early Earth's rock.
2. Xenon due to a variety of factors, did not behave in a similar manner, and thus was free floating in the early atmosphere.
3. A 'big event', like the event that caused Earth's moon to form also knocked the original atmosphere into space.
4. Because almost all of the xenon was in the atmosphere at the time of the event, it was literally lost (from the perspective of the Earth) to space and was either acquired by the other planets or sun, or blown by the solar wind out to the edge of the solar system and beyond.
5. Some small amounts of xenon were recaptured by Earth (like how the bits that formed the moon are still 'bound' to Earth) and those small amounts are what we measure in our current atmosphere.
In short:
Xenon exists in the atmosphere, not rocks. Impact event knocks off Earth's atmosphere (and the Xenon), Earth's atmosphere is replaced by outgassing from the previously saturated rock. The rock did not contain Xenon, so we have only trace amounts today.
Out of modpoints but really liked a post? 1BDkF6TtmmeZ3yqXbz9yhdYVqRYnwFoXDj
I just have a Tesla Coil I run 24/7 as a security device. so all I generate is Ozone.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Xenon is in QUALITY headlights. the blue and purple crap the posers put on their cars is not Xenon but actually low grade halogen bulbs with a color coating on them.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_gas_compound
Yes, see the link: of all the noble gases we've studied, it is the most chemically active, we've created many more compounds with xenon than any other noble gas. It's the most reactive.
Radon is heavier and has more complex electron shells and therefore is probably more reactive, theoretically. But it is also radioactive, so it isn't more chemically active when we take into account the concept the idea of sticking around and staying in the compound.
So xenon is the most chemically active noble gas, period.
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
No, Audi and Volkswagen's entire new line has LED headlights on all of their models this year and the A4/A5 have had them for 4-5 years now.
But don't think I'm agreeing with Tastecicles, because they're almost wrong. They are only the dipped/low-beam headlights as LEDs are not yet legal in the USA or Europe for full or high-beam use. But as for this usage, even SEAT has them now on some of their models and that's one of VAG's "budget" brands.
I never get used to these constant resurrections
Which coincides nicely with the planetary impact hypothesis for the Moon's origin.
At 169 m/s, the speed of sound in xenon gas is slower than that in air due to the slower average speed of the heavy xenon atoms compared to nitrogen and oxygen molecules. Hence, xenon lowers the resonant frequencies of the vocal tract when inhaled. This produces a characteristic lowered voice timbre, an effect opposite to the high-timbred voice caused by inhalation of helium. Like helium, xenon does not satisfy the body's need for oxygen. Xenon is both a simple asphyxiant and an anesthetic more powerful than nitrous oxide; consequently, many universities no longer allow the voice stunt as a general chemistry demonstration. As xenon is expensive, the gas sulfur hexafluoride, which is similar to xenon in molecular weight (146 versus 131), is generally used in this stunt, and is an asphyxiant without being anesthetic.
Fun times. :)
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
"Xenon headlights are a hazard, especially to older drivers."
⦠because drivers can see seniors on sidewalks sooner and have a better chance of hitting them for points?
@de_machina
I didn't read the article but this cannot be their conclusion. Because something cannot be found it must be gone forever?
It's been dispersed into the near vacuum of interstellar space.
As far as we're concerned, that's gone forever.
Because the a-hat tailgating you in a lifted truck with xenon headlights ruins your nightvision.
Actually, you can get really nice halogen headlight bulbs. Personally, I recommend the Sylvania SilverStar Ultra series. They're kinda pricy compared to other brands, but one of the best (if not the best) aftermarket bulbs on the market.
https://www.sylvania.com/en-us/products/automotive/Pages/silverstar-ultra.aspx
Life is not for the lazy.
Is this issue really the bulbs, or is it the asshole, the truck, or the tailgating ? My preference if someone is really close and trying to blind me is to turn my lights off, and let them light the road for me. Of course, this wouldnt be safe, so I keep coasting to a slower and safer speed. Eventually the asshole figures it out.
Sure, if you like replacing your headlights 1-2 times a year. That makes them even more expensive by comparison.
You are holding it wrong! Seriously though: people tend to handle the bulbs with a bare hand leaving oil residue on the bulb and thus causing it to fail prematurely. Use a rag or a glove when installing the new bulbs and this won't be an issue!
Get a web developer
According to this, 16.7EBq of Xenon was released by Fukushima, and plugging that into the forumla wikipedia gives to convert Bequerels to grams says that about 2.4kg of Xe-133 was released. Haven't seen anything that says Xe-136 was released, but I didn't look that hard.
A lot of new cars (Audi A8 and TT to name two, also the new BMWs, Citroens, and the Ford compacts have nothing but LED lightgear) have LED running lights using Cree or Luxeon (most likely Luxeon as they're slightly cheaper) elements. LED indicators have been around for years, at least as long as CHMBL (Centre High Mounted Brake Lights) became mandatory on every new car sold in the UK a decade or some ago. Some EU directive.
Operation Guillotine is in effect.
It's also the perfectly reasonable driver in the opposing lane. Any aim that provides him with reasonable head lighting can place you in the focus of his headlights given the right road conditions. If his headlights are too intense you won't be able to see a thing after the encounter.
When it comes to headlights, more is certainly not necessarily better.
on a mostly related note... I spent some time driving around the desert in arizona and new mexico. Every car that drove by at night blinded me in the worst way. It took me several days to figure out that it wasnt just a common thing for all drivers to keep their high beams on all the time ( they werent ), but that the issue was the amount of darkness out there is so great that the contrast to what is needed by urban cars to light a road at night is just painful.
The angle of the road can occur with any lights, and I will give you the point that when it happens with HIDs it is worse than with other bulbs. Many of the factory HID kits are self leveling, which at least reduces the issue as much as possible ( along with being REALLY cool to watch). The aftermarket kits dont do this, and make a mess by pointing all over the place.
It's the asshole with the bulbs. putting them in a crap car that does not have projector style headlamps that is designed to use 100+ watt bulbs. Reflector headlamps without a cutoff shutter, (2007-2012 civic has a properly designed reflector for example) simply blind the hell out of everyone. And 90% of all trucks have craptastic designed headlights to begin with, so those by default are bad, adding the bulbs makes it worse.
I have 100 watt Xenon's in my Pontiac Fiero, but I also made a plate to replace the sealed beam with quad Hella 90mm projector headlamps that have a drastic cutoff. I can see better than ever, but oncoming traffic sees my marker lights as brighter than my headlights.
And this is the problem most of the "assholes" buy $19.00 lenses off of ebay and $19.00 "purple HID like" bulbs. they then poorly install them in their rolling parts car truck, 1995 Civic or Kia junker that already has front end damage. and dont spent the 20 minutes aligning the lamps. They cant afford to even own their car let alone install the right parts, so you cant expect them to install them right.
I had one kid flip out when I told him my headlight upgrade was $550.00 total. "MY CAR WAS LESS THAN THAT"
The real stuff is expensive, you can not just stuff a bulb in and drive, yet these people do just that.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
When that happens, I turn my rear-view mirror so it reflects their headlights back at them.
Mars Needs Xenon.
And I got a pet rock. Whenever there is a sudden release of radon in the living room, I can blame it on the pet.
Vibration. high revving sportbikes will literally create a resonance in the bulb filament. I end up having to ride a few days with bright only aimed back down until I get a replacement.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Aimed wrong? Write to your representative about this, from WP:
European vehicle regulations require such headlamps to be equipped with lens cleaners and an automatic self-leveling system to keep the beams aimed correctly regardless of vehicle load and attitude, but no such devices are required on motorcycles, or where ECE regulations are inapplicable.
For that reason alone, xenon headlights are a blessing. At least around here. Not a single xenon-lit car blinds me, as opposed to those with halogen lights that don't even bloody know that they have a damn wheel/knob to adjust the headlights. Or some drive around with full beam because they can't actually tell the difference from within the car (I assure you, you can with xenon).
On motorcycles it's not ubiquitous enough, yet. That fake glaring blue crap you see on cars? That's just plain stupid and as explained below has nothing to do with xenon.
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