An Element of Interest...

Discovered in 1772 by Daniel Rutherford or Scotland, it composes 78% of the air we breathe and is one of the four integral elements of living tissue. Nitrogen is an inert gas and forms oxides only at high temperatures. Nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) are common oxides and contribute to air pollution, smog, and acid rain. The third common oxide is nitrous oxide (N₂O), which is used by surgeons and dentists as a light anesthetic and has a agreeable aroma.

Life

Ecologically, nitrogen is part of the life cycle. Certain leguminous plants absorb nitrogen directly from the air, and with special bacteria are able to convert the gas into protein as an alternative to absorbing it from the ground when it is scarce. Living things eat those plants for protein and when the animals die they produce ammonia gas during decomposition that eventually devolves into elemental nitrogen or oxides. These nitrogen compounds are then reused as fertilizer by plants completing the cycle.

Practical Applications

As previously mentioned, the oxides of nitrogen are used as fertilizers. The economy of Peru once heavily relied on the sale of guano which is basically seabird dropping that has high nitrogen content. Nitric acid is used in the manufacture of many commercial products including explosives, synthetic fabrics, drugs, and dyes. Its use in explosives is notable in World War I when Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany had it solicited for the creation of munitions. Trinitrotoluene (TNT), dynamite, and guncotton are nitrogen-based explosives and gunpowder itself is 75% saltpeter (KNO₃).

Element Profile Source: The Camelot Chemistry Primer. Coop, Dwight Wayne. Kenndon, Krastins & Gould, Publishers. 1992
Photographic Source: Time Life Books: Life Science Library: A Periodic Table of the Elements