{"id":41598,"date":"2020-08-13T12:24:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-13T10:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/efemerides\/3-agosto-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-anuncian-descubrimiento-argon\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T12:46:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T10:46:16","slug":"august-13-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-announce-discovery-argon","status":"publish","type":"re_efemeride","link":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/anniversaries\/august-13-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-announce-discovery-argon\/","title":{"rendered":"August 13, 1894 - Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsay announce the discovery of argon"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

On August 13, 1894, during a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in Oxford, physicist John William Strutt (Lord Rayleigh)<\/a> and chemist Sir William Ramsay<\/a> formally announced the discovery of a new chemical element: argon (Ar). This finding did not just add another member to science; it opened the door to an entire family of elements completely unknown until then: the noble gases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mystery of \"Heavy\" Nitrogen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The discovery of argon stemmed from a physical anomaly that was driving Lord Rayleigh mad. While measuring gas densities, he noticed that nitrogen obtained from atmospheric air was always slightly heavier than nitrogen produced through chemical reactions in the laboratory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rayleigh suspected that atmospheric air contained a small amount of an unknown gas that was heavier than nitrogen. He teamed up with chemist William Ramsay to isolate it. After experimentally removing all oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water from an air sample, a tiny bubble of residual gas remained, refusing to react with any other substance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \"Lazy\" Gas That Completed the Periodic Table<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

By analyzing its spectrum, they confirmed it was a brand-new chemical element. Due to its total chemical inertia\u2014its inability to combine with other elements to form compounds\u2014they named it argon<\/strong>, a word derived from the Greek argos<\/em> ($\\alpha\\rho\\gamma\\text{\u00f3}\\nu$), meaning \"inactive\"<\/strong> or \"lazy\"<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The discovery of argon was a scientific earthquake. At the time, Dmitri Mendeleev's periodic table had no room for elements that did not react with anything. Ramsay realized that argon belonged to a completely new column and, in the following years, managed to isolate helium, neon, krypton, and xenon, completing the noble gases group. For this work, Rayleigh received the Nobel Prize in Physics and Ramsay received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modern Applications of Argon<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Although dubbed \"lazy,\" argon is incredibly useful in today's science and technological industry thanks precisely to its lack of reactivity:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Protective Atmospheres:<\/strong> It is used in industrial welding to prevent hot metals from oxidizing when they come into contact with air.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Lighting:<\/strong> It fills the inside of incandescent light bulbs and fluorescent tubes to protect the tungsten filament and extend its lifespan.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Thermal Insulation:<\/strong> It is injected between the panes of double-glazed windows due to its low thermal conductivity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Historical Conservation:<\/strong> It is used to protect ancient documents and artworks from environmental degradation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    August 13, 1894. British scientists Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsay announce the isolation of argon ($Ar$), the first noble gas discovered in history. The breakthrough revolutionized chemistry and the structure of Mendeleev's periodic table by proving the existence of a group of completely inert elements. Both researchers received the Nobel Prize in 1904 for their contributions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1088,"featured_media":41592,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"mes":[7209],"clasificacion_anterior":[],"class_list":["post-41598","re_efemeride","type-re_efemeride","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","mes-august"],"acf":{"fecha":"18940813"},"yoast_head":"\nAugust 13, 1894 - Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsay announce the discovery of argon - Rinc\u00f3n educativo<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/anniversaries\/august-13-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-announce-discovery-argon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"August 13, 1894 - Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsay announce the discovery of argon - Rinc\u00f3n educativo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"August 13, 1894. British scientists Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsay announce the isolation of argon ($Ar$), the first noble gas discovered in history. The breakthrough revolutionized chemistry and the structure of Mendeleev's periodic table by proving the existence of a group of completely inert elements. Both researchers received the Nobel Prize in 1904 for their contributions.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/anniversaries\/august-13-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-announce-discovery-argon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rinc\u00f3n educativo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-07T10:46:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Rayleigh_Ramsay_Color_FINE.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"676\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/anniversaries\/august-13-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-announce-discovery-argon\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/anniversaries\/august-13-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-announce-discovery-argon\/\",\"name\":\"August 13, 1894 - Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsay announce the discovery of argon - Rinc\u00f3n educativo\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/es\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/anniversaries\/august-13-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-announce-discovery-argon\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/anniversaries\/august-13-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-announce-discovery-argon\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Rayleigh_Ramsay_Color_FINE.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-08-13T10:24:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-07T10:46:16+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/anniversaries\/august-13-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-announce-discovery-argon\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/anniversaries\/august-13-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-announce-discovery-argon\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/anniversaries\/august-13-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-announce-discovery-argon\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Rayleigh_Ramsay_Color_FINE.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Rayleigh_Ramsay_Color_FINE.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":676},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/anniversaries\/august-13-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-announce-discovery-argon\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Portada\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Efem\u00e9rides\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/es\/efemerides\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"August 13, 1894 - Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsay announce the discovery of argon\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/es\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/es\/\",\"name\":\"Rinc\u00f3n educativo\",\"description\":\"Un proyecto del Foro Nuclear\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/es\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"August 13, 1894 - Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsay announce the discovery of argon - Rinc\u00f3n educativo","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/anniversaries\/august-13-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-announce-discovery-argon\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"August 13, 1894 - Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsay announce the discovery of argon - Rinc\u00f3n educativo","og_description":"August 13, 1894. British scientists Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsay announce the isolation of argon ($Ar$), the first noble gas discovered in history. The breakthrough revolutionized chemistry and the structure of Mendeleev's periodic table by proving the existence of a group of completely inert elements. Both researchers received the Nobel Prize in 1904 for their contributions.","og_url":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/anniversaries\/august-13-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-announce-discovery-argon\/","og_site_name":"Rinc\u00f3n educativo","article_modified_time":"2026-07-07T10:46:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":676,"url":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Rayleigh_Ramsay_Color_FINE.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/anniversaries\/august-13-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-announce-discovery-argon\/","url":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/anniversaries\/august-13-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-announce-discovery-argon\/","name":"August 13, 1894 - Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsay announce the discovery of argon - Rinc\u00f3n educativo","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/es\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/anniversaries\/august-13-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-announce-discovery-argon\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/anniversaries\/august-13-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-announce-discovery-argon\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Rayleigh_Ramsay_Color_FINE.png","datePublished":"2020-08-13T10:24:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-07T10:46:16+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/anniversaries\/august-13-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-announce-discovery-argon\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/anniversaries\/august-13-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-announce-discovery-argon\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/anniversaries\/august-13-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-announce-discovery-argon\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Rayleigh_Ramsay_Color_FINE.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Rayleigh_Ramsay_Color_FINE.png","width":1200,"height":676},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/anniversaries\/august-13-1894-lord-rayleigh-william-ramsay-announce-discovery-argon\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Portada","item":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Efem\u00e9rides","item":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/es\/efemerides\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"August 13, 1894 - Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsay announce the discovery of argon"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/es\/#website","url":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/es\/","name":"Rinc\u00f3n educativo","description":"Un proyecto del Foro Nuclear","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/es\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/re_efemeride\/41598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/re_efemeride"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/re_efemeride"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1088"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/re_efemeride\/41598\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41604,"href":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/re_efemeride\/41598\/revisions\/41604"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41598"},{"taxonomy":"mes","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mes?post=41598"},{"taxonomy":"clasificacion_anterior","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinconeducativo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/clasificacion_anterior?post=41598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}