William Ramsay

William Ramsay (1852–1916) was a Scottish chemist who discovered or isolated argon, helium, neon, krypton, and xenon, helping establish the noble gases as a distinct group.

Noble gas: A chemical element with a filled outer electron shell and low chemical reactivity. Ramsay’s discoveries established several members of this formerly unknown elemental group.
Fractional distillation: A separation method that uses repeated vaporization and condensation to divide mixtures by boiling point. Ramsay and Travers used it to separate rare gases from liquid air.
University of Glasgow: A public research university in Glasgow, Scotland, founded in 1451. Ramsay studied and later taught chemistry there before moving to London.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry: An annual international award recognizing outstanding contributions to chemistry. Ramsay received the 1904 prize for discovering the inert gaseous elements in air.
Argon: A colorless, odorless noble gas that makes up about 0.93 percent of Earth’s atmosphere. Ramsay and Lord Rayleigh identified this atmospheric gas in 1894.
Spectroscopy: The study of how matter interacts with electromagnetic radiation, including characteristic emission and absorption spectra. Distinctive spectra helped identify gases isolated in Ramsay’s laboratory.
University College London: A public research university in London, founded in 1826 as University of London. Ramsay held the chemistry professorship there during his major discoveries.
Neon: A noble gas discovered in 1898, now widely used in discharge lamps and signs. Ramsay and Travers identified neon while separating components of liquid air.
Helium: The lightest noble gas, first detected in the solar spectrum and later found on Earth. Ramsay isolated terrestrial helium from the mineral cleveite in 1895.
Lord Rayleigh: John William Strutt, a British physicist whose measurements of nitrogen’s density helped lead to argon’s discovery. His collaboration with Ramsay joined precise physical measurements to chemical separation.

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