xenon
pronunciation
How to pronounce xenon in British English:
UK [ˈzenɒn]
How to pronounce xenon in American English:
US [ˈzenɑn]
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- Noun:
- a colorless odorless inert gaseous element occurring in the earth's atmosphere in trace amounts
Word Origin
- xenon
- xenon: [19] Xenon is etymologically the ‘strange’ gas. It was named in 1898 by its discoverer, the British chemist Sir William Ramsay. He adapted the term from the neuter form of Greek xénos ‘strange’, which may be a distant relative of English guest, hospital, host, etc, and is also the source of English xenophobia ‘fear of foreigners’ [19].=> guest, hospital, host, xenophobia
- xenon (n.)
- gaseous element, 1898, from Greek xenon, neuter of xenos "foreign, strange" (see xeno-); coined by its co-discoverer, Scottish chemist Sir William Ramsay (1852-1916); compare krypton.
Example
- 1. One of these is the large underground xenon ( lux ) experiment .
- 2. First , a range of less-dangerous gases are liberated , including tritium , krypton and xenon .
- 3. The xenon atoms lost a whopping 21 electrons at once , which indicates that it was hit by 50 photons simultaneously .
- 4. Accelerating 60 mile per hour consumes a mere 37 ounces of the xenon propellant on board , and that propellant has to last .
- 5. In particular , the researchers were studying the isotope ratios -- or the comparative abundances of the different forms of a particular element -- of the gaseous elements krypton and xenon .