Related topics: phosphorus
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.
For more information about Nitrogen, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with nitrogen
Discovery brings new type of fast computers closer to reality
Sep 27, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (34) |
1
Physicists at UC San Diego have successfully created speedy integrated circuits with particles called "excitons" that operate at commercially cold temperatures, bringing the possibility of a new type of extremely ...
Climate Change, Acid Rain Could Be Good for Forests
Oct 20, 2008 |
4.6 / 5 (27) |
9
(PhysOrg.com) -- After more than 20 years of research in the northern hardwood forests of Michigan, scientists at Michigan Technological University's School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science have reached a surprising ...
Mysterious Microbe Plays Important Role in Ocean Ecology
Biology /
Nov 13, 2008 |
4.6 / 5 (26) |
6
(PhysOrg.com) -- An unusual microorganism discovered in the open ocean may force scientists to rethink their understanding of how carbon and nitrogen cycle through ocean ecosystems. A paper describing the ...
New ancient fungus finding suggests world's forests were wiped out in global catastrophe
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 01, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (25) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists beleive extinct fungus species capitalised on a world-wide disaster and thrived on early Earth.
New way to break some of the strongest chemical bonds
Dec 16, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (24) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at Cornell University in the U.S. have found a new way of breaking two of the strongest chemical bonds, at ambient temperature and pressure, and this breakthrough could lead to ...
Secret ingredient for the health of tropical rainforests found
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 09, 2008 |
4.8 / 5 (22) |
2
A team of researchers led by Princeton University scientists has found for the first time that tropical rainforests, a vital part of the Earth's ecosystem, rely on the rare trace element molybdenum to capture the nitrogen ...
Carbon molecule with a charge could be tomorrow's semiconductor
Sep 08, 2008 |
4.5 / 5 (22) |
0
Virginia Tech chemistry Professor Harry Dorn has developed a new area of fullerene chemistry that may be the backbone for development of molecular semiconductors and quantum computing applications.
Carbon Nanotube Artificial Muscles for Extreme Temperatures
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Mar 20, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (18) |
6
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the UT Dallas Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute have demonstrated a fundamentally new type of artificial muscle, which can operate at extreme temperatures where no other ...
Key new ingredient in climate model refines global predictions
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 09, 2009 |
3.6 / 5 (23) |
28
For the first time, climate scientists from across the country have successfully incorporated the nitrogen cycle into global simulations for climate change, questioning previous assumptions regarding carbon feedback and potentially ...
Forests may play overlooked role in regulating climate
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 17, 2008 |
4.2 / 5 (18) |
3
In a study to be published next week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists led by a team at the University of New Hampshire show that forests may influence the Earth's climate in important ways t ...
Scientists test superjet technology in Australia
May 22, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (16) |
7
Australian and US scientists have successfully tested hypersonic aircraft technology which could revolutionise international flight, officials said.
New insights, and a new angle, on high-temperature superconductivity
Jun 29, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (15) |
6
(PhysOrg.com) -- A Princeton-led research team has revealed surprising information about how electron behavior influences the conduction of electricity in a class of high-temperature superconductors. An increased ...
Lasers used to make first boron-nitride nanotube yarn (w/ Video)
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Dec 02, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (15) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have used lasers to create the first practical macroscopic yarns from boron nitride fibers, opening the door for an array of applications, from radiation-shielded spacecraft to ...
Planet's nitrogen cycle overturned by 'tiny ammonia eater of the seas'
Sep 30, 2009 |
5 / 5 (12) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- It's not every day you find clues to the planet's inner workings in aquarium scum. But that's what happened a few years ago when University of Washington researchers cultured a tiny organism from the bottom ...
Two 'new' greenhouse gases growing
Mar 24, 2009 |
2.8 / 5 (20) |
11
Two new greenhouse gases are accumulating in the atmosphere, according to an international research team led by scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in the US and CSIRO scientist, Dr Paul Fraser, from the ...
