krypton

Krypton (from Ancient Greek: κρυπτός, romanized: kryptos "the hidden one") is a chemical element with the symbol Kr and atomic number 36. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas that occurs in trace amounts in the atmosphere and is often used with other rare gases in fluorescent lamps. With rare exceptions, krypton is chemically inert.
Krypton, like the other noble gases, is used in lighting and photography. Krypton light has many spectral lines, and krypton plasma is useful in bright, high-powered gas lasers (krypton ion and excimer lasers), each of which resonates and amplifies a single spectral line. Krypton fluoride also makes a useful laser medium. From 1960 to 1983, the official length of a meter was defined by the 606-nanometer wavelength of the orange spectral line of krypton-86, because of the high power and relative ease of operation of krypton discharge tubes.

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