Monatomic

In physics and chemistry, monatomic is a combination of the words "mono" and "atomic," and means "single atom." It is usually applied to gases: a monatomic gas is one in which atoms are not bound to each other.

Related Topics:
Physics - Chemistry - Atom - Gas

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Under Standard Temperature and Pressure (STP), all of the noble gases are monatomic. To be a monatomic gas, an element usually has to have zero valence (as for the noble gases); or be a normally diatomic gas under extremely low pressure, as is the case with oxygen in Earth's upper atmosphere.

Related Topics:
Standard Temperature and Pressure - Noble gas - Valence - Diatomic - Oxygen - Upper atmosphere

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