Argon (Ar) is a
monatomic, chemically inert gas composing slightly less than 1%
of the air. Its gaseous specific gravity is 1.38 and its boiling
point is –302.6°F (–185.9°C). Argon is colorless, odorless,
tasteless, noncorrosive, nonflammable, and nontoxic. Commercial
argon is the product of cryogenic air separation, where
liquefaction and distillation processes are used to produce a
low-purity "crude" argon product which is then purified to the
commercial product.
Argon is used primarily for its properties as
an inert gas in applications such as arc welding, steelmaking,
heat treating, and electronics manufacturing.
