Discovery Information
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Who: Joseph Priestley, Karl Wilhelm Scheele |
When: 1774 |
Where: England/Sweden |
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Name Origin
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Greek: oxus (acid) and gennan (generate). |
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Sources
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Obtained primarily from by liquification and then fractional distillation of the air. |
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Uses
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Used in steel making, production of methanol (CH3OH), welding, water purification, cement and rocket propulsion. It is also required for supporting life and combustion.
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Oxygen is a major component of air, produced by plants during photosynthesis, and is necessary for aerobic respiration in
animals.
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Notes
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Certain derivatives of oxygen, such as ozone (O3), singlet oxygen, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), hydroxyl radicals and superoxide (O2-), are highly toxic. Highly concentrated sources of oxygen promote rapid combustion and therefore are fire and explosion hazards
in the presence of fuels.
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Liquid and solid O2 are both a light blue colour. Ozone (O3) is a deeper blue colour.
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Oxygen is the second most common element on Earth, composing around 46% of the mass of Earth's crust and 28% of the mass of
Earth as a whole, and is the third most common element in the universe. Forms almost 21% of atmosphere.
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