Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. In English, to be inert is to be in a state of doing little or nothing. In chemistry, the term inert is used to describe something that is not chemically reactive.The noble gases were previously known as inert gases because of their perceived lack of participation in any chemical reactions. The reason for this is that their outmost electron shells are completely filled, so that they have little tendency to acquire or lose electrons. It is now known that these gases in fact do react to form chemical compounds, such as xenon tetrafluoride. Hence, they have been renamed to noble gases. However, a large amount of energy is required to drive such reactions, usually in the form of heat, pressure, or radiation, often assisted by catalysts. The resulting compounds often need to be kept in moisture-free conditions at low temperatures to prevent rapid decomposition back into their elements.

Данное издание не является оригинальным. Книга печатается по технологии принт-он-деманд после получения заказа.