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Oxygen
hideOxygen (pronounced /ˈɒksɨdʒɨn/, from the Greek roots ὀξύς (oxys) (acid, literally "sharp", from the taste of acids) and -γενής (-genēs) (producer, literally begetter) is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. It is a member of the chalcogen group on the periodic table, and is a highly reactive nonmetallic period 2 element that readily forms compounds (notably oxides) with almost all other elements. At standard temperature and pressure two atoms of the element bind to form dioxygen, a colorless, odorless, tasteless diatomic gas with the formula O2. Oxygen is the third most abundant element in the universe by mass after hydrogen and helium and the most abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust. Diatomic oxygen gas constitutes 20.9% of the volume of air.
All major classes of structural molecules in living organisms, such as proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, contain oxygen, as do the major inorganic compounds that comprise animal shells, teeth, and bone. Oxygen in the form of O2 is produced from water by cyanobacteria, algae and plants during photosynthesis and is used in cellular respiration for all complex life. Oxygen is toxic to obligately anaerobic organisms, which were the dominant form of early life on Earth until O2 began to accumulate in the atmosphere 2.5 billion years ago. Another form (allotrope) of oxygen, ozone (O3), helps protect the biosphere from ultraviolet radiation with the high-altitude ozone layer, but is a pollutant near the surface where it is a by-product of smog. At even higher low earth orbit altitudes monatomic oxygen (O1) is a significant presence and a cause of erosion for spacecraft.
Oxygen was independently discovered by Carl Wilhelm Scheele, in Uppsala, in 1773 or earlier, and Joseph Priestley in Wiltshire, in 1774, but Priestley is often given priority because his publication came out in print first. The name oxygen was coined in 1777 by Antoine Lavoisier, whose experiments with oxygen helped to discredit the then-popular phlogiston theory of combustion and corrosion. Oxygen is produced industrially by fractional distillation of liquefied air, use of zeolites to remove carbon dioxide and nitrogen from air, electrolysis of water and other means. Uses of oxygen include the production of steel, plastics and textiles; rocket propellant; oxygen therapy; and life support in aircraft, submarines, spaceflight and diving.
For more information about Oxygen, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with oxygen
Jupiter's Moon Europa Has Enough Oxygen For Life
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 16, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (99) |
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New research suggests that there is plenty of oxygen available in the subsurface ocean of Europa to support oxygen-based metabolic processes for life similar to that on Earth. In fact, there may be enough ...
Increasing carbon dioxide and decreasing oxygen make it harder for deep-sea animals to 'breathe'
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 17, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (78) |
7
(PhysOrg.com) -- New calculations made by marine chemists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) suggest that low-oxygen "dead zones" in the ocean could expand significantly over the next ...
Scientists: Global warming has already changed oceans
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jun 10, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (63) |
4
In Washington state, oysters in some areas haven't reproduced for four years, and preliminary evidence suggests that the increasing acidity of the ocean could be the cause. In the Gulf of Mexico, falling oxygen levels in ...
Machine Converts CO2 into Gasoline, Diesel, and Jet Fuel
Nov 23, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (45) |
25
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have built a machine that uses the sun's energy to convert carbon dioxide waste from power plants into transportation fuels such as gasoline, diesel, ...
Theory of the sun's role in formation of the solar system questioned
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 04, 2008 |
4.7 / 5 (35) |
7
A strange mix of oxygen found in a stony meteorite that exploded over Pueblito de Allende, Mexico nearly 40 years ago has puzzled scientists ever since. Small flecks of minerals lodged in the stone and thought ...
Researchers Find Ancient Evidence of 'Snowball Earth'
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jul 11, 2008 |
4.3 / 5 (33) |
1
LSU scientist Huiming Bao, along with colleagues from UCLA and China, recently discovered some of the first atmospheric evidence in support of the “Snowball Earth” hypothesis. This theory suggests that Earth was entirely ...
PhD student solves decade-long mystery of magnetism
Oct 27, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (32) |
3
(PhysOrg.com) -- A PhD student from the London Centre for Nanotechnology has won a prize for solving a decade-long mystery central to understanding modern magnetic systems.
Scientists Make Oxygen Out of Moon Rock
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Aug 11, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (28) |
21
(PhysOrg.com) -- If humans ever create a lunar base, one of the biggest challenges will be figuring out how to breathe. Transporting oxygen to the moon is extremely expensive, so for the past several years ...
Researchers explain odd oxygen bonding under pressure
Aug 04, 2008 |
4.4 / 5 (28) |
1
Oxygen, the third most abundant element in the cosmos and essential to life on Earth, changes its forms dramatically under pressure transforming to a solid with spectacular colors. Eventually it becomes metallic ...
Oxygen Ions for Fuel Cells Get Loose at Low Temperatures
Jun 25, 2008 |
4.2 / 5 (29) |
0
Seeking to understand a new fuel cell material, a research team working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in collaboration with the University of Liverpool, has uncovered a novel ...
Out on a limb: Arm-swinging riddle is answered
Jul 28, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (23) |
9
Biomedical researchers on Wednesday said they could explain why we swing our arms when we walk, a practice that has long piqued scientific curiosity.
Did a nickel famine trigger the 'Great Oxidation Event'?
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 08, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (21) |
3
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Earth's original atmosphere held very little oxygen. This began to change around 2.4 billion years ago when oxygen levels increased dramatically during what scientists call the "Great ...
The rise of oxygen caused Earth's earliest ice age
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 07, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (20) |
6
(PhysOrg.com) -- Geologists may have uncovered the answer to an age-old question - an ice-age-old question, that is. It appears that Earth's earliest ice ages may have been due to the rise of oxygen in Earth's ...
53 million-year-old high Arctic mammals wintered in darkness
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jun 01, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (17) |
74
(PhysOrg.com) -- Ancestors of tapirs and ancient cousins of rhinos living above the Arctic Circle 53 million years ago endured six months of darkness each year in a far milder climate than today that featured ...
Cluster watches Earth's leaky atmosphere
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Aug 28, 2008 |
4.3 / 5 (19) |
8
Oxygen is constantly leaking out of Earth’s atmosphere and into space. Now, ESA’s formation-flying quartet of satellites, Cluster, has discovered the physical mechanism that is driving the escape. It turns ...
