Description
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Radon is an odorless, colorless, noble gas in its natural state. It is one of the heaviest gases known, and it is toxic and known to produce lung cancer in people. Radon as an atomic weight of 222, a melting point of - 96 °F, and a boiling point of - 79.1 °F. Radon does not have many commercial uses as it is so toxic. However there are some uses of radon and these include: in hydrologic research, geologic studies, and atmospheric studies.
Isolation
Radon naturally occurs in the Earth’s crust and emanates from the ground in its gaseous form and in the water in some hot springs. It may be isolated or created.
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Radon is present in the Earth’s crust and atmosphere once it escapes the crust barrier. Radon present in the atmosphere in minute amounts could technically be collected as a by-product from the liquefaction and separation of the air. In this process, the air is captured and heated until it becomes a liquid. Fractional distillation procedures are then used to separate out the different components. While this process could theoretically be used to isolate radon it has not yet been used as a source of radon. Only minute amounts of radon are needed for its current purposes, and most of it is collected through reactions that occur in nuclear power plants. The radon produced in this method is collected into cooled water from which it is extracted and isolated. It is then brought into a holding take where it decays, (its half life is only around 4 days), and in this safe reduced form it is released into the atmosphere.