Xenon is present in the atmosphere at a concentration of 0.086 parts per million by volume. It can also be found in the gases that evolve from certain mineral springs. It is obtained commercially by extraction from liquid air.

How is xenon used in everyday life?

Xenon is used in photographic flashes, in high pressure arc lamps for motion picture projection, and in high pressure arc lamps to produce ultraviolet light. It is used in instruments for radiation detection, e.g., neutron and X-ray counters and bubble chambers.

How is xenon produced?

Xenon, from the Greek for 'stranger' is a colourless, odourless group 18 noble gas. Discovered in 1898 in London by William Ramsay, xenon is produced commercially by the fractional distillation of liquid air and is isolated as a by-product of the cryogenic production of oxygen and nitrogen.