Everyone loves Xe - H compounds...

Like two earlier posters, I thought that this article from RSC was really interesting. In it researchers from the Carnegie institution of Washington in D.C. describe trying to force hydrogen gas into a solid metallic state but instead creating a new compound composed of xenon and hydrogen. While noble gasses typically don't react similar experiments done over the last few years have also led to strange combinations of noble gasses at high pressures. In this test the compound did not begin to form until the pressure reached 40,000 atmospheres. The researchers believe that compounds like this may have naturally occurred on early earth due to the high pressures at the time. I found this article interesting as it shows that under extreme conditions, previously unknown chemical species can be formed.

Posted by Anthony Burger