What was krypton originally used for

Travers, an English chemist, while studying liquefied air. Small amounts of liquid krypton remained behind after the more volatile components of liquid air had boiled away. The earth's atmosphere is about 0. The high cost of obtaining krypton from the air has limited its practical applications. Krypton is used in some types of photographic flashes used in high speed photography.

Retellings of Superman's origins place his arrival on Earth around the time of World War I, a mere 20 years after Ramsay and Traver's discovery of krypton. Siegel and Shuster may have been inspired by the element's cryptic name, its ghastly glow or perhaps just its sound, like George Eastman favoring the strength of the letter K. Regardless, Superman and his legion of fans have made the fictional planet Krypton far better known than the real element. The fictional mineral kryptonite, which threatens Superman's strength and vitality, even has a real-life counterpart, almost.

Mining researchers in Jadar, Serbia, in unearthed some sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide and learned that's what's written on a case of rock containing kryptonite in the film Superman Returns. Krypton has few practical applications, mostly in bright white light bulbs used in photography and in devices used in physical and chemical research. Over the years, the mythological kryptonite was endowed with much more extensive chemistry than real krypton gas. Although there are exceptions, such as former Molecule of the Week krypton difluoride.

But when it is contained under pressure, it may explode when heated; and if it is released into a closed space, it may displace air, leading to suffocation.

Learn more about this molecule from CAS , the most authoritative and comprehensive source for chemical information.

If your favorite molecule is not in our archive , please send an email to motw acs. The molecule can be notable for its current or historical importance or for any quirky reason. They are paid advertisements and neither partners nor recommended web sites. Also, we do not collect or ask for personally identifiable information on any of our sites. Flash Photography When you have a really high temperature explosion used in flash photography, you want to make sure everything doesn't burn up.