One of the most familiar elements, oxygen.
It is generally known that we need it to breathe and to burn things, but do you know how it really helps us in society?
This article provides a wide range of information on the properties of oxygen, its use in society and its history at the time of its naming.
Contents
Properties and characteristics of Oxygen
It is known as an element necessary for respiration of living organisms. After being taken into the body, oxygen is converted into water in the cells. The energy generated at this stage is necessary for life to take place.
As an aside, gill-breathing fish breathe from oxygen drawn into the water, not from the air, when they rise to the surface.
Oxygen is also needed to burn things, and in fact, when oxygen was discovered, it was found in experiments to burn things.
How oxygen is used in society
Oxygen is used in a wide range of fields, including ‘oxygen cylinders’, ‘disposable body warmers’ and ‘rocket fuel’. Let’s look at how oxygen is used in each of these, one by one.
Oxygen is useful for “Oxygen cylinders.”
These are carried on the back for scuba diving and other activities. Also, spray cans inhaled by marathon runners at the end of their run are the same kind. It is also used in the medical sector as an oxygen inhaler.
In this way, oxygen cylinders serve to replenish the body’s oxygen supply when it is inadequate due to sport or illness.
Oxygen is useful for “disposable body warmer”
Many of you may have used it on cold winter days.
In fact, disposable body warmers are actually made of iron powder. The heat generated when iron reacts with oxygen makes it warmer. Incidentally, the reason it cannot be reused is that all the iron inside has been oxidized.
Oxygen is useful for “rocket fuel”
Liquid oxygen is used as rocket fuel to keep hydrogen burning in space.
For more information, see the article on hydrogen.
History of Oxygen
Chemical symbol: O
English name: Oxygen
The etymology of the word oxygen was actually born out of a misunderstanding.
At the time, it was thought that the source of acid was oxygen, and the name was derived from the Greek words ‘oxys’, meaning acid, and ‘gennan’, meaning to live. (Incidentally, the real source of acid is protons.)
Summary
The key points of this article are as follows
- Oxygen is essential for energy for life
- Used in oxygen cylinders, disposable body warmers and rocket fuel.
- The naming of oxygen was born out of a misunderstanding
If you are interested in other elements, the following article summarizes them. Please take a look.
