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Scottish physician Daniel Rutherford is usually credited with the discovery of Nitrogen in 1772. Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal went on to suggest the name Nitrogen in 1790 when it was found that it was present in nitric acid and nitrates. Nitrogen is the most abundant element and we need it to live, about 3.2% of our body mass is nitrogen and it is present in many of the foods we eat including meat, fish and milk. Nitrogen also helps plants to grow strong and grow new leaves and if you see plants turning yellow it shows a lack of nitrogen. Although you may think the air we breathe is just oxygen it is actually 78% nitrogen! Saturn's moon Titan beats that with an astonishing 98% nitrogen! The element can be found in lots of pharmaceutical drugs as well as fertilizers and explosives and is one of the key components in Laughing Gas (also known as Nitrous Oxide). Nitrogen is also present in many poisons including toxic cyanide containing compounds such as hydrogen cyanide. Interestingly, another nitrogen containing compound Hydroxocobalamin (vitamin B12a) appears to be useful as an antidote to hydrogen cyanide and is generally used as the first-line of defense for cyanide poisoning.
More info about the International Year of the Periodic Table (IYPT) in crystals project:
This project (#IYPTCrystals) is part of the International Year of the Periodic Table celebration (#IYPT2019), read more about the project here. You can follow us on social media using #IYPTCrystals and learn more about the wonders of crystals by following the CCDC on Twitter @ccdc_cambridge on Facebook ccdc.cambridge, on Instagram ccdc_cambridge or on YouTube CCDCCambridge.
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