About Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a colourless, odourless unreactive gas that forms about 78% of the earth’s atmosphere. Liquid nitrogen (made by distilling liquid air) boils at 77.4 kelvins (−195.8°C) and is used as a coolant.
Summary
Element | Nitrogen |
Atomic number | 7 |
Element category | Non Metal |
Phase at STP | Gas |
Density | 0.00125 g/cm3 |
Ultimate Tensile Strength | N/A |
Yield Strength | N/A |
Young’s Modulus of Elasticity | N/A |
Mohs Scale | N/A |
Brinell Hardness | N/A |
Vickers Hardness | N/A |
Melting Point | -209.9 °C |
Boiling Point | -195.8 °C |
Thermal Conductivity | 0.02598 W/mK |
Thermal Expansion Coefficient | — µm/mK |
Specific Heat | 1.04 J/g K |
Heat of Fusion | (N2) 0.7204 kJ/mol |
Heat of Vaporization | (N2) 5.56 kJ/mol |
Electrical resistivity [nanoOhm meter] | — |
Magnetic Susceptibility | −1.2e-5 cm^3/mol |
Applications of Nitrogen
Nitrogen in various chemical forms plays a major role in large number of environmental issues. The applications of nitrogen compounds are naturally extremely widely varied due to the huge size of this class: hence, only applications of pure nitrogen itself will be considered here. Two-thirds of nitrogen produced by industry is sold as the gas and the remaining one-third as the liquid. In metallurgy, nitriding is a case hardening process in which the surface nitrogen concentration of a ferrous is increased by diffusion from the surrounding environment to create case-hardened surface. Nitriding produces hard, highly wear-resistant surface (shallow case depths) of product with fair capacity for contact load, good bending fatigue strength and excellent resistance to seizure. Synthetically produced ammonia and nitrates are key industrial fertilisers, and fertiliser nitrates are key pollutants in the eutrophication of water systems. Apart from its use in fertilisers and energy-stores, nitrogen is a constituent of organic compounds as diverse as Kevlar used in high-strength fabric and cyanoacrylate used in superglue.
Production and Price of Nitrogen
Raw materials prices change daily. They are primarily driven by supply, demand and energy prices. In 2019, prices of pure Nitrogen were at around 4 $/kg.
Dinitrogen forms about 78% of Earth’s atmosphere, making it the most abundant uncombined element. Nitrogen gas is an industrial gas produced by the fractional distillation of liquid air, or by mechanical means using gaseous air (pressurised reverse osmosis membrane or pressure swing adsorption). Nitrogen gas generators using membranes or pressure swing adsorption (PSA) are typically more cost and energy efficient than bulk delivered nitrogen. Commercial nitrogen is often a byproduct of air-processing for industrial concentration of oxygen for steelmaking and other purposes.
Source: www.luciteria.com
Mechanical Properties of Nitrogen
Strength of Nitrogen
In mechanics of materials, the strength of a material is its ability to withstand an applied load without failure or plastic deformation. Strength of materials basically considers the relationship between the external loads applied to a material and the resulting deformation or change in material dimensions. In designing structures and machines, it is important to consider these factors, in order that the material selected will have adequate strength to resist applied loads or forces and retain its original shape. Strength of a material is its ability to withstand this applied load without failure or plastic deformation.
For tensile stress, the capacity of a material or structure to withstand loads tending to elongate is known as ultimate tensile strength (UTS). Yield strength or yield stress is the material property defined as the stress at which a material begins to deform plastically whereas yield point is the point where nonlinear (elastic + plastic) deformation begins.
See also: Strength of Materials
Ultimate Tensile Strength of Nitrogen
Ultimate tensile strength of Nitrogen is N/A.
Yield Strength of Nitrogen
Yield strength of Nitrogen is N/A.
Modulus of Elasticity of Nitrogen
The Young’s modulus of elasticity of Nitrogen is N/A.
Hardness of Nitrogen
In materials science, hardness is the ability to withstand surface indentation (localized plastic deformation) and scratching. Brinell hardness test is one of indentation hardness tests, that has been developed for hardness testing. In Brinell tests, a hard, spherical indenter is forced under a specific load into the surface of the metal to be tested.
Brinell hardness of Nitrogen is approximately N/A.
The Vickers hardness test method was developed by Robert L. Smith and George E. Sandland at Vickers Ltd as an alternative to the Brinell method to measure the hardness of materials. The Vickers hardness test method can be also used as a microhardness test method, which is mostly used for small parts, thin sections, or case depth work.
Vickers hardness of Nitrogen is approximately N/A.
Scratch hardness is the measure of how resistant a sample is to permanent plastic deformation due to friction from a sharp object. The most common scale for this qualitative test is Mohs scale, which is used in mineralogy. The Mohs scale of mineral hardness is based on the ability of one natural sample of mineral to scratch another mineral visibly.
Nitrogen is has a hardness of approximately N/A.
See also: Hardness of Materials
Nitrogen – Crystal Structure
A possible crystal structure of Nitrogen is hexagonal structure.
In metals, and in many other solids, the atoms are arranged in regular arrays called crystals. A crystal lattice is a repeating pattern of mathematical points that extends throughout space. The forces of chemical bonding causes this repetition. It is this repeated pattern which control properties like strength, ductility, density, conductivity (property of conducting or transmitting heat, electricity, etc.), and shape. There are 14 general types of such patterns known as Bravais lattices.
See also: Crystal Structure of Materials
Crystal Structure of Nitrogen

Thermal Properties of Nitrogen
Nitrogen – Melting Point and Boiling Point
Melting point of Nitrogen is -209.9°C.
Boiling point of Nitrogen is -195.8°C.
Note that, these points are associated with the standard atmospheric pressure.
Nitrogen – Thermal Conductivity
Thermal conductivity of Nitrogen is 0.02598 W/(m·K).
The heat transfer characteristics of a solid material are measured by a property called the thermal conductivity, k (or λ), measured in W/m.K. It is a measure of a substance’s ability to transfer heat through a material by conduction. Note that Fourier’s law applies for all matter, regardless of its state (solid, liquid, or gas), therefore, it is also defined for liquids and gases.
Coefficient of Thermal Expansion of Nitrogen
Linear thermal expansion coefficient of Nitrogen is — µm/(m·K)
Thermal expansion is generally the tendency of matter to change its dimensions in response to a change in temperature. It is usually expressed as a fractional change in length or volume per unit temperature change.
Nitrogen – Specific Heat, Latent Heat of Fusion, Latent Heat of Vaporization
Specific heat of Nitrogen is 1.04 J/g K.
Heat capacity is an extensive property of matter, meaning it is proportional to the size of the system. Heat capacity C has the unit of energy per degree or energy per kelvin. When expressing the same phenomenon as an intensive property, the heat capacity is divided by the amount of substance, mass, or volume, thus the quantity is independent of the size or extent of the sample.
Latent Heat of Fusion of Nitrogen is (N2) 0.7204 kJ/mol.
Latent Heat of Vaporization of Nitrogen is (N2) 5.56 kJ/mol.
Latent heat is the amount of heat added to or removed from a substance to produce a change in phase. This energy breaks down the intermolecular attractive forces, and also must provide the energy necessary to expand the gas (the pΔV work). When latent heat is added, no temperature change occurs. The enthalpy of vaporization is a function of the pressure at which that transformation takes place.
Nitrogen – Electrical Resistivity – Magnetic Susceptibility
Electrical property refers to the response of a material to an applied electric field. One of the principal characteristics of materials is their ability (or lack of ability) to conduct electrical current. Indeed, materials are classified by this property, that is, they are divided into conductors, semiconductors, and nonconductors.
See also: Electrical Properties
Magnetic property refers to the response of a material to an applied magnetic field. The macroscopic magnetic properties of a material are a consequence of interactions between an external magnetic field and the magnetic dipole moments of the constituent atoms. Different materials react to the application of magnetic field differently.
See also: Magnetic Properties
Electrical Resistivity of Nitrogen
Electrical resistivity of Nitrogen is — nΩ⋅m.
Electrical conductivity and its converse, electrical resistivity, is a fundamental property of a material that quantifies how Nitrogen conducts the flow of electric current. Electrical conductivity or specific conductance is the reciprocal of electrical resistivity.
Magnetic Susceptibility of Nitrogen
Magnetic susceptibility of Nitrogen is −1.2e-5 cm^3/mol.
In electromagnetism, magnetic susceptibility is the measure of the magnetization of a substance. Magnetic susceptibility is a dimensionless proportionality factor that indicates the degree of magnetization of Nitrogen in response to an applied magnetic field.