Nitrogen

chemistry · air · elements

Most of our air. Nitrogen makes up about 78% of the air we breathe every single day. It's the most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere, way more common than oxygen.

Super light element. Nitrogen is the lightest member of a group of elements called the pnictogens on the periodic table. It has the symbol N and atomic number 7.

Invisible and odorless. At normal temperature and pressure, nitrogen exists as a colorless, odorless gas. Two nitrogen atoms stick together to form N2, which is what fills the sky around us.

Found in space. Nitrogen is the seventh most abundant element in our Milky Way galaxy and solar system. It exists throughout the universe, not just on Earth.

Tricky compounds. Nitrogen compounds are very unstable and tend to break apart easily. That's why nitrogen is pretty rare in the solid rocky parts of Earth, even though it's everywhere in the air.