Krypton is used in certain electric and fluorescent lamps and in a flashlamp employed in high-speed photography. Radioactive krypton-85 is useful for detecting leaks in sealed containers, with the escaping atoms detected by means of their radiation. Krypton is named from the Greek word kryptos, “hidden.”
Properties: at.no. 36; r.a.m. 83.80; r.d. 3.73; m.p. −156.6°C; (−249.9°F); b.p. −152.3°C (−242.1°F); most common isotope Kr84 (56.9%).
