Applications
There are several different reasons argon is used in particular applications:
- An inert gas is needed. In particular, argon is the cheapest alternative when nitrogen is not sufficiently inert.
- Low thermal conductivity is required.
- The electronic properties (ionization and/or the emission spectrum) are necessary.
Other noble gases would probably work as well in most of these applications, but argon is by far the cheapest. Argon is inexpensive since it is a byproduct of the production of liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen from a cryogenic air separation unit, both of which are used on a large industrial scale. The other noble gases (except helium) are produced this way as well, but argon is the most plentiful by far, since it has a much higher concentration in the atmosphere. The bulk of argon applications arise simply because it is inert and relatively cheap.
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