Xenon

From Marspedia
Revision as of 15:02, 20 November 2020 by Michel Lamontagne (talk | contribs)
Jump to: navigation, search
Xe 54
 
Xenon

Abundance: 0.0%

Xenon, periodic table Xe, is a noble gas, much like krypton and argon. It has a large number of isotopes, from 124Xe to 136Xe

It is the most efficient choice for the fuel of most types of ion engines as it is both massive and easy to ionize. It may be used as well as an ionizing agent in a nuclear MHD generator.

Xenon is quite expensive, at about $20 per liter (6g) or 3 300$ per kg. There are about 45 billions tons of Xenon in Earth's atmosphere. Due to cost and availability concerns, argon or krypton may be a more practical choice than Xenon.