nitrogen

The main component of the gaseous mixture that makes up the air, being present in it in its molecular form (N₂). It is, by far, the most abundant element in the Earth's atmosphere, occupying 78.084% of its volume. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and inert gas, fundamental for life on Earth, given the important role it plays in biological processes. The so-called nitrogen cycle is responsible for regulating the exchanges of this atmospheric gas with living beings. Since it is not a chemically reactive gas, the cycle is only possible thanks to the role played by certain bacteria, capable of synthesizing nitrogenous compounds from the nitrogen they take from the air, giving rise to the process known as nitrogen fixation. The Scottish chemist, physician, and botanist Daniel Rutherford (1749-1819) was the first to reveal the existence of this gas, in 1772. He called it "phlogisticated air," in reference to phlogiston; a substance which at that time was assumed to be responsible for the flammability of things. Later, the French chemist Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier (1743-1794) referred to it as azote, a term deriving from the Greek word ζωή (life), preceded by the privative prefix (the letter "a" -alpha in the Greek alphabet), and meaning "without life" or inert, that being the main characteristic of nitrogen.