Nitrogen
hideNitrogen (pronounced /ˈnaɪtrədʒɨn/) is a chemical element that has the symbol N and atomic number 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78% by volume of Earth's atmosphere.
Many industrially important compounds, such as ammonia, nitric acid, organic nitrates (propellants and explosives), and cyanides, contain nitrogen. The extremely strong bond in elemental nitrogen dominates nitrogen chemistry, causing difficulty for both organisms and industry in converting the N2 into useful compounds, and releasing large amounts of energy when these compounds burn or decay back into nitrogen gas.
The element nitrogen was discovered by Daniel Rutherford, a Scottish physician, in 1772. Nitrogen occurs in all living organisms. It is a constituent element of amino acids and thus of proteins, and of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA). It resides in the chemical structure of almost all neurotransmitters, and is a defining component of alkaloids, biological molecules produced by many organisms.
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News tagged with nitrogen
Like humans, ants use bacteria to make their gardens grow
Nov 19, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Leaf-cutter ants, which cultivate fungus for food, have many remarkable qualities.
Studying Fertilizers to Cut Greenhouse Gases
Nov 18, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have found that using alternative types of fertilizers can cut back on greenhouse gas emissions, at least in one part of the country. They are ...
Climate Change, Nitrogen Loss Threaten Plant Life in Arid Desert Soils
Nov 05, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In the Mojave Desert winds howl across this hottest place in North America, blowing sands across Death Valley and through empty ghost towns, swirling across treeless land for hundreds of miles. ...
Airborne nitrogen shifts aquatic nutrient limitation in pristine lakes
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 05, 2009 |
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The impact of airborne nitrogen released from the burning of fossil fuels and wide-spread use of fertilizers in agriculture is much greater that previously recognized and even extends to remote alpine lakes, ...
Mapping nutrient distributions over the Atlantic Ocean
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 03, 2009 |
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Large-scale distributions of two important nutrient pools - dissolved organic nitrogen and dissolved organic phosphorus (DON and DOP) have been systematically mapped for the first time over the Atlantic Ocean in a study led ...
Iron controls patterns of nitrogen fixation in the Atlantic
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 02, 2009 |
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Scientists including researchers from the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton and the University of Essex have discovered that interactions between iron supply, transported through the atmosphere from ...
Wolves, moose and biodiversity: An unexpected connection
Nov 02, 2009 |
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Moose eat plants; wolves kill moose. What difference does this classic predator-prey interaction make to biodiversity?
NASA Researchers Explore Lightning's NOx-ious Impact on Pollution, Climate
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Every year, scientists learn something new about the inner workings of lightning. With satellites, they have discovered that more than 1.2 billion lightning flashes occur around the world ...
Replacing Platinum in Fuel Cell Technology
Oct 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the biggest hindrances to the development of fuel cell technology is its cost. In order to work properly, polymer electrolyte fuel cells require a catalyst. So far, though, the most ...
Research for Organic Farming - Soya Thrives on Nitrogen From the Air
Oct 20, 2009 |
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For the first time, the capacity of soya plants to absorb nitrogen from the air has been precisely determined in dry areas of Eastern Austria. The primary aim of this project, backed by the FWF Austrian Science ...
Cooking Up Water From the Moon? NASA Studies Water Extraction With Microwaves
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 19, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Intrigued by NASA lunar missions in the 1990s which suggested the existence of ice within craters at the moon's poles, NASA scientist Dr. Edwin Ethridge and his team started cooking up a way ...
Report examines hidden costs of energy production and use
Oct 19, 2009 |
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A new report from the National Research Council examines and, when possible, estimates "hidden" costs of energy production and use -- such as the damage air pollution imposes on human health -- that are not reflected in market ...
Deep-Sea Microbes May Answer Long-Standing Question About Earth's Nitrogen Cycle
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 15, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have identified an unexpected metabolic ability in a symbiotic community of deep-sea microorganisms. It may help solve a lingering mystery about the world's nitrogen cycle.
Japanese firm plans zero-emission ferry
Oct 15, 2009 |
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A Japanese shipmaker said Thursday it planned to launch the world's first large electric ferry -- the latest innovation aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The future of electricity may be found in environmentally-friendly, thermoelectric cells
Oct 14, 2009 |
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The Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the National Science Foundation are funding research that may result in a military turbine aircraft that for the first time ever will produce its own electricity from exhaust ...
