Rn - Radon

86
Rn
Radon

Radon Element Information, Facts, Properties, Trends, Uses, Comparison with other elements

Element 86 of Periodic table is Radon with atomic number 86, atomic weight 222. Radon, symbol Rn, has a Face Centered Cubic structure and Colorless color. Radon is a Noble Gas element. It is part of group 18 (helium family or neon family). Know everything about Radon Facts, Physical Properties, Chemical Properties, Electronic configuration, Atomic and Crystal Structure.
86 Rn - Radon | SchoolMyKids

Radon is a chemical element with symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive, colorless, odorless, tasteless Noble Gas, occurring naturally as a decay product of radium. Its most stable isotope, 222Rn, has a half-life of 3.8 days.

It belongs to group 18 of the periodic table having trivial name noble gases, aerogens. You can also download Printable Periodic Table of Elements Flashcards for Radon in a PDF format.

Radon Facts

Read key information and facts about element Radon

NameRadon
Atomic Number86
Atomic SymbolRn
Atomic Weight222
PhaseGas(Monoatomic Gas)
ColorColorless
Appearancecolorless gas, occasionally glows green or red in discharge tubes
ClassificationNoble Gas
Natural OccuranceFrom decay
Group in Periodic Table18
Group Namehelium family or neon family
Period in Periodic Tableperiod 6
Block in Periodic Tablep-block
Electronic Configuration[Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p6
Electronic Shell Structure (Electrons per shell)2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 8
Melting Point202 K
Boiling Point211.3 K
CAS NumberCAS10043-92-2
Neighborhood Elements
123456789101112131415161718
1
1
H
Hydrogen
1.008

Atomic #

Electronic Shell #

Symbol
Name
Atomic Weight
HGas
HgLiquid
CSolid
Metals
Metalloids
NonMetals
Alkali metals
Alkali earth metals
Lanthanoids
Transition metals
Post-transition metals
Other nonmetals
Halogens
Nobel gas
Actinoids
2
He
Helium
4.003
2
3
Li
Lithium
6.941
4
Be
Beryllium
9.012
5
B
Boron
10.811
6
C
Carbon
12.011
7
N
Nitrogen
14.007
8
O
Oxygen
15.999
9
F
Fluorine
18.998
10
Ne
Neon
20.180
3
11
Na
Sodium
22.990
12
Mg
Magnesium
24.305
13
Al
Aluminium
26.982
14
Si
Silicon
28.085
15
P
Phosphorus
30.974
16
S
Sulfur
32.065
17
Cl
Chlorine
35.453
18
Ar
Argon
39.948
4
19
K
Potassium
39.098
20
Ca
Calcium
40.078
21
Sc
Scandium
44.956
22
Ti
Titanium
47.867
23
V
Vanadium
50.941
24
Cr
Chromium
51.996
25
Mn
Manganese
54.938
26
Fe
Iron
55.845
27
Co
Cobalt
58.933
28
Ni
Nickel
58.693
29
Cu
Copper
63.546
30
Zn
Zinc
65.409
31
Ga
Gallium
69.723
32
Ge
Germanium
72.640
33
As
Arsenic
74.922
34
Se
Selenium
78.960
35
Br
Bromine
79.904
36
Kr
Krypton
83.798
5
37
Rb
Rubidium
85.468
38
Sr
Strontium
87.620
39
Y
Yttrium
88.906
40
Zr
Zirconium
91.224
41
Nb
Niobium
92.906
42
Mo
Molybdenum
95.940
43
Tc
Technetium
98
44
Ru
Ruthenium
101.070
45
Rh
Rhodium
102.906
46
Pd
Palladium
106.420
47
Ag
Silver
107.868
48
Cd
Cadmium
112.411
49
In
Indium
114.818
50
Sn
Tin
118.710
51
Sb
Antimony
121.760
52
Te
Tellurium
127.600
53
I
Iodine
126.904
54
Xe
Xenon
131.293
6
55
Cs
Cesium
132.905
56
Ba
Barium
137.327
57 - 71
La - Lu
Lanthanides
72
Hf
Hafnium
178.490
73
Ta
Tantalum
180.948
74
W
Tungsten
183.840
75
Re
Rhenium
186.207
76
Os
Osmium
190.230
77
Ir
Iridium
192.217
78
Pt
Platinum
195.078
79
Au
Gold
196.967
80
Hg
Mercury
200.590
81
Tl
Thallium
204.383
82
Pb
Lead
207.200
83
Bi
Bismuth
208.980
84
Po
Polonium
209
85
At
Astatine
210
86
Rn
Radon
222
7
87
Fr
Francium
223
88
Ra
Radium
226
89 - 103
Ac - Lr
Actinides
104
Rf
Rutherfordium
261
105
Db
Dubnium
262
106
Sg
Seaborgium
266
107
Bh
Bohrium
264
108
Hs
Hassium
269
109
Mt
Meitnerium
268
110
Ds
Darmstadtium
281
111
Rg
Roentgenium
272
112
Cn
Copernicium
285
113
Nh
Nihonium
284
114
Fl
Flerovium
289
115
Mc
Moscovium
288
116
Lv
Livermorium
292
117
Ts
Tennessine
294
118
Og
Oganesson
294
Lanthanides
57
La
Lanthanum
138.905
58
Ce
Cerium
140.116
59
Pr
Praseodymium
140.908
60
Nd
Neodymium
144.240
61
Pm
Promethium
145
62
Sm
Samarium
150.360
63
Eu
Europium
151.964
64
Gd
Gadolinium
157.250
65
Tb
Terbium
158.925
66
Dy
Dysprosium
162.500
67
Ho
Holmium
164.930
68
Er
Erbium
167.259
69
Tm
Thulium
168.934
70
Yb
Ytterbium
173.040
71
Lu
Lutetium
174.967
Actinides
89
Ac
Actinium
227
90
Th
Thorium
232.038
91
Pa
Protactinium
231.036
92
U
Uranium
238.029
93
Np
Neptunium
237
94
Pu
Plutonium
244
95
Am
Americium
243
96
Cm
Curium
247
97
Bk
Berkelium
247
98
Cf
Californium
251
99
Es
Einsteinium
252
100
Fm
Fermium
257
101
Md
Mendelevium
258
102
No
Nobelium
259
103
Lr
Lawrencium
262

How to Locate Radon on Periodic Table

Periodic table is arranged by atomic number, number of protons in the nucleus which is same as number of electrons. The atomic number increases from left to right. Periodic table starts at top left ( Atomic number 1) and ends at bottom right (atomic number 118). Therefore you can directly look for atomic number 86 to find Radon on periodic table.

Another way to read periodic table and locate an element is by using group number (column) and period number (row). To locate Radon on periodic table look for cross section of group 18 and period 6 in the modern periodic table.

Radon History

The element Radon was discovered by E. Rutherford and R. B. Owens in year 1899 in Germany. Radon was first isolated by W. Ramsay and R. Whytlaw-Gray in 1910. Radon derived its name From radium, as it was first detected as an emission from radium during radioactive decay.

Discovered By E. Rutherford and R. B. Owens
Discovery Date 1899 in Germany
First Isolation 1910
Isolated by W. Ramsay and R. Whytlaw-Gray

Rutherford and Owens discovered a radioactive gas resulting from the radioactive decay of thorium, isolated later by Ramsay and Gray. In 1900,Friedrich Ernst Dorndiscovered a longer-lived isotope of the same gas from the radioactive decay of radium. Since "radon" was first used to specifically designate Dorn's isotope before it became the name for the element, he is often mistakenly given credit for the latter instead of the former.

Radon Uses

Radon is used to treat cancer. It was often produced in hospitals by pumping radon from radium and then sealing it into tubes.

Radon Presence: Abundance in Nature and Around Us

The table below shows the abundance of Radon in Universe, Sun, Meteorites, Earth's Crust, Oceans and Human Body.

 ppb by weight (1ppb =10^-7 %)ppb by atoms (1ppb =10^-7 %)
Abundance in Universe--
Abundance in Sun--
Abundance in Meteorites--
Abundance in Earth's Crust--
Abundance in Oceans0.00000000000060.00000000000002
Abundance in Humans--

Crystal Structure of Radon

The solid state structure of Radon is Face Centered Cubic.

The Crystal structure can be described in terms of its unit Cell. The unit Cells repeats itself in three dimensional space to form the structure.

Unit Cell Parameters

The unit cell is represented in terms of its lattice parameters, which are the lengths of the cell edges Lattice Constants (a, b and c)

abc

and the angles between them Lattice Angles (alpha, beta and gamma).

alphabetagamma

The positions of the atoms inside the unit cell are described by the set of atomic positions ( xi, yi, zi) measured from a reference lattice point.

The symmetry properties of the crystal are described by the concept of space groups. All possible symmetric arrangements of particles in three-dimensional space are described by the 230 space groups (219 distinct types, or 230 if chiral copies are considered distinct.

Space Group Name-
Space Group Number-
Crystal StructureFace Centered Cubic
Number of atoms per unit cell4
86 Rn Radon - Crystal Structure | SchoolMyKids

The number of atoms per unit cell in a simple cubic, face-centered cubic and body-centred cubic are 1,4,2 respectively.

Radon Atomic and Orbital Properties

Radon atoms have 86 electrons and the electronic shell structure is [2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 8] with Atomic Term Symbol (Quantum Numbers) 1S0.

Atomic Number86
Number of Electrons (with no charge)86
Number of Protons86
Mass Number222
Number of Neutrons136
Shell structure (Electrons per energy level)2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 8
Electron Configuration[Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p6
Valence Electrons6s2 6p6
Valence (Valency)6
Main Oxidation States2
Oxidation States2, 6
Atomic Term Symbol (Quantum Numbers)1S0

Bohr Atomic Model of Radon - Electrons per energy level

86 Rn Radon Electron Shell Structure | SchoolMyKids
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Ground State Electronic Configuration of Radon - neutral Radon atom

Abbreviated electronic configuration of Radon

The ground state abbreviated electronic configuration of Neutral Radon atom is [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p6. The portion of Radon configuration that is equivalent to the noble gas of the preceding period, is abbreviated as [Xe]. For atoms with many electrons, this notation can become lengthy and so an abbreviated notation is used. This is important as it is the Valence electrons 6s2 6p6, electrons in the outermost shell that determine the chemical properties of the element.

Unabbreviated electronic configuration of neutral Radon

Complete ground state electronic configuration for the Radon atom, Unabbreviated electronic configuration

1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p6 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p6

Electrons are filled in atomic orbitals as per the order determined by the Aufbau principle, Pauli Exclusion Principle and Hund’s Rule.

As per the Aufbau principle the electrons will occupy the orbitals having lower energies before occupying higher energy orbitals. According to this principle, electrons are filled in the following order: 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d, 4p, 5s, 4d, 5p, 6s, 4f, 5d, 6p, 7s, 5f, 6d, 7p…

The Pauli exclusion principle states that a maximum of two electrons, each having opposite spins, can fit in an orbital.

Hund's rule states that every orbital in a given subshell is singly occupied by electrons before a second electron is filled in an orbital.

Electron configuration of Radon

Atomic Structure of Radon

Radon atomic radius is 120 pm, while it's covalent radius is 145 pm.

Atomic Radius Calculated120 pm(1.2 Å)
Atomic Radius Empirical-
Atomic Volume50.5 cm3/mol
Covalent Radius145 pm (1.45 Å)
Van der Waals Radius220 pm
Neutron Cross Section0.7
Neutron Mass Absorption -

Spectral Lines of Radon - Atomic Spectrum of Radon

A spectral line is a dark or bright line in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum, resulting from an excess or deficiency of photons in a narrow frequency range, compared with the nearby frequencies. Spectral lines are often used to identify atoms and molecules.

Spectral lines are the result of interaction between a quantum system and a single photon. A spectral line may be observed either as an emission line or an absorption line.

Spectral lines are highly atom-specific, and can be used to identify the chemical composition of any medium. Several elements, including helium, thallium, and caesium, were discovered by spectroscopic means. They are widely used to determine the physical conditions of stars and other celestial bodies that cannot be analyzed by other means.

Emission spectrum of Radon

Emission Spectrum of Radon | SchoolMyKids

Absorption spectrum of Radon

Absorption Spectrum of Radon | SchoolMyKids

Radon Chemical Properties: Radon Ionization Energies and electron affinity

The electron affinity of Radon is 0 kJ/mol.

Valence6
Electronegativity2.2
ElectronAffinity0 kJ/mol

Ionization Energy of Radon

Ionization energy is the amount of energy required to remove an electron from an atom or molecule.in chemistry, this energy is expresed in kilocalories per mole (kcal/mol) or kilojoules per mole (kJ/mol).

Refer to table below for Ionization energies of Radon

Ionization energy numberEnthalpy - kJ/mol
1st1037

Radon Physical Properties

Refer to below table for Radon Physical Properties

Density0.00973 g/cm3
Molar Volume50.5 cm3/mol

Elastic Properties

Young Modulus-
Shear Modulus-
Bulk Modulus -
Poisson Ratio-

Hardness of Radon - Tests to Measure of Hardness of Element

Mohs Hardness-
Vickers Hardness-
Brinell Hardness-

Radon Electrical Properties

Electrical resistivity measures element's electrical resistance or how strongly it resists electric current.The SI unit of electrical resistivity is the ohm-metre (Ω⋅m). While Electrical conductivity is the reciprocal of electrical resistivity. It represents a element's ability to conduct electric current. The SI unit of electrical conductivity is siemens per metre (S/m).

Radon is a -. Refer to table below for the Electrical properties of Radon

Electrical conductors -
Electrical Conductivity-
Resistivity-
Superconducting Point-

Radon Heat and Conduction Properties

Thermal Conductivity0.00361 W/(m K)
Thermal Expansion-

Radon Magnetic Properties

Magnetic Type-
Curie Point-
Mass Magnetic Susceptibility-
Molar Magnetic Susceptibility-
Volume Magnetic Susceptibility-

Optical Properties of Radon

Refractive Index-

Acoustic Properties of Radon

Speed of Sound-

Radon Thermal Properties - Enthalpies and thermodynamics

Refer to table below for Thermal properties of Radon

Melting Point202 K(-71.15 °C, -96.070 °F)
Boiling Point211.3 K(-61.85 °C, -79.330 °F)
Critical Temperature377 K
Superconducting Point-

Enthalpies of Radon

Heat of Fusion3 kJ/mol
Heat of Vaporization17 kJ/mol
Heat of Combustion-

Radon Isotopes - Nuclear Properties of Radon

Radon has 34 isotopes, with between 195 and 228 nucleons. Radon has 0 stable naturally occuring isotopes.

Isotopes of Radon - Naturally occurring stable Isotopes: -.

IsotopeZNIsotope Mass% AbundanceT halfDecay Mode
195Rn86109195Synthetic
196Rn86110196Synthetic
197Rn86111197Synthetic
198Rn86112198Synthetic
199Rn86113199Synthetic
200Rn86114200Synthetic
201Rn86115201Synthetic
202Rn86116202Synthetic
203Rn86117203Synthetic
204Rn86118204Synthetic
205Rn86119205Synthetic
206Rn86120206Synthetic
207Rn86121207Synthetic
208Rn86122208Synthetic
209Rn86123209Synthetic
210Rn86124210Synthetic
211Rn86125211Synthetic
212Rn86126212Synthetic
213Rn86127213Synthetic
214Rn86128214Synthetic
215Rn86129215Synthetic
216Rn86130216Synthetic
217Rn86131217Synthetic
218Rn86132218Synthetic
219Rn86133219Synthetic
220Rn86134220Synthetic
221Rn86135221Synthetic
222Rn86136222Synthetic3.823495 dAlphaEmission
223Rn86137223Synthetic
224Rn86138224Synthetic
225Rn86139225Synthetic
226Rn86140226Synthetic
227Rn86141227Synthetic
228Rn86142228Synthetic

Regulatory and Health - Health and Safety Parameters and Guidelines

The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) identifies hazard class of all dangerous elements/goods/commodities either by its class (or division) number or name. The DOT has divided these materials into nine different categories, known as Hazard Classes.

Radioactive materials

NFPA 704 is a Standard System for the Identification of the Hazards of Materials for Emergency Response. NFPA is a standard maintained by the US based National Fire Protection Association.

The health (blue), flammability (red), and reactivity (yellow) rating all use a numbering scale ranging from 0 to 4. A value of zero means that the element poses no hazard; a rating of four indicates extreme danger.

Autoignition Point-
Flashpoint-

Database Search

List of unique identifiers to search the element in various chemical registry databases

DatabaseIdentifier number
CAS Number - Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS)CAS10043-92-2
RTECS NumberRTECSVE3750000
CID Number CID24857
Gmelin NumberGmelin16242
NSC Number-

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Find the answers to the most frequently asked questions about Radon

The electronic configuration of Radon is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p6 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p6.

The abbreviated electronic configuration of Radon is [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p6. To form abbreviated notation of electronic configuration, the completely filled subshells are replaced by the noble gas of the preceding period in square brackets.

Symbol of Radon is Rn. Radon is a chemical element with symbol Rn and atomic number 86.

Radon is a chemical element with the symbol Rn and atomic number 86. Radon is the 86 element on the periodic table. It is located in group 18 and period 6 in the modern periodic table.

The atomic number of Radon is 86.

Radon is Colorless.

The element Radon was discovered by E. Rutherford and R. B. Owens in year 1899 in Germany. Radon was first isolated by W. Ramsay and R. Whytlaw-Gray in 1910.

Radon has 6 valence electrons. Radon has 86 electrons out of which 6 valence electrons are present in the 6s2 6p6 outer orbitals of atom.

Melting Point of Radon is 202 K.

Boiling Point of Radon is 211.3 K.

Melting Point of Radon in Kelvin is 202 K.

Boiling Point of Radon in Kelvin is 211.3 K.

Melting Point of Radon in Celsius is -71.15 °C.

Boiling Point of Radon in Celsius is -61.85 °C.

Melting Point of Radon in Fahrenheit is -96.07 °F.

Boiling Point of Radon in Fahrenheit is -79.33 °F.

The electronic configuration of Radon will be 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p6 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p6.

The electronic configuration of Radon will be 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p6 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p6.