Nitrogen (N), also known in the periodic table, is a colorless, odorless element.
What Is Nitrogen and What Does It Do?
Nitrogen is in the soil under our feet, in the water we drink, and in the air we breathe. In fact, nitrogen is the most abundant element in Earth’s atmosphere. About 78% of the atmosphere is nitrogen. Nitrogen is important for all living things, including us. It plays an important role in plant growth. Nitrogen is essential for our food supply, but excess nitrogen can harm the environment.
The delicate balance of substances essential to sustaining life is an important area of research, and the nitrogen balance in the environment is no exception. When plants lack nitrogen, they turn yellow with stunted growth and produce smaller fruits and flowers. Farmers can add nitrogen-containing fertilizers to their crops to increase crop growth. Without nitrogen fertilizers, scientists estimate we would lose a third of the crop we rely on for food and other forms of agriculture. But we need to know how much nitrogen is needed for plant growth because too much can contaminate waterways and harm aquatic life.
Nitrogen is an essential element in nucleic acid DNA. It is deoxyribonucleic acid, a self-replicating material found in almost all living organisms as the main component of chromosomes and the carrier of genetic information. Ribonucleic acid, a nucleic acid found in all living cells, acts as a messenger carrying instructions from DNA.
DNA, the most important of the biological molecules and very important for all living things, carries genetic information. That means instructions on how to make a life form. When plants do not get enough nitrogen, they cannot produce amino acids (substances containing nitrogen and hydrogen that make up many living cells, muscles and tissues).
Without amino acids, plants cannot make the special proteins they need for plant cells to grow. Without enough nitrogen, plant growth is adversely affected. With too much nitrogen, plants produce excess biomass or organic matter such as stems and leaves, but not enough root structure. In extreme cases, plants with very high levels of nitrogen absorbed from the soil can poison livestock that eats them.
Where Is Nitrogen Found?
Although the atmosphere consists mostly of nitrogen, the dinitrogen is in the form of a gas known as N2. Plants cannot use this form. Dinitrogen or atmospheric nitrogen may also be present in the soil. In addition to dinitrogen, other inorganic and organic forms are also present in the soil. Organic forms of nitrogen make up a very high percentage of the total nitrogen found in the soil. However, plants can only use very specific forms of inorganic nitrogen.
Element Nitrogen Properties and Atomic Number
atomic number: 7
atomic weight: 14.0067
melting point: -209,86 ° C (-345,8 ° F)
boiling point: -195,8 ° C (-320,4 ° F)
Intensity (1 atm, 0 ° C): 1.2506 gram / liter
Usual oxidation states: −3, +3, +5
electron arrangement: 1 s 2 2 s 2 2 p 3
Where Is Nitrogen Used?
Nitrogen is important to the chemical industry. It is used to make fertilizer, nitric acid, nylon, paint and explosives. To make these products, nitrogen must first react with hydrogen to produce ammonia. In this way, 150 million tons of ammonia is produced every year.
Nitrogen gas is also used to provide a non-reactive atmosphere. In this way it is used to preserve food and in the electronics industry during the manufacture of transistors and diodes. Large amounts of nitrogen are used in the annealing of stainless steel and other steel mill products. Annealing is a heat treatment that facilitates the machining of steel.
Liquid nitrogen is often used as a refrigerant. It is used to store sperm, eggs and other cells for medical research and reproductive technology. It is also used to quickly freeze foods, helping them retain moisture, colour, taste and texture.
