How does Argon gas protect old manuscripts from degradation?
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The “Noble Gasses” are the elements along the right side of the periodic table. They’re called “noble” because they don’t react with pretty much anything. So putting a thing you want preserved into a box full of a noble gas will help preserve it by keeping the thing from oxidizing, and will also kill most organisms that might get in.
Looking down the chart, that means you could use Helium, Neon, Argon, Krypton, Xenon, or Radon. Argon is by far the cheapest, and it also has the advantage of being heavy, so it’s easier to work with than Helium (which also has a tendency to leak out of things.) Using Neon, Krypton, or Xenon would also work, but they’re much more expensive and not really better than Argon for preservation. You wouldn’t want to use Radon, because it’s radioactive.
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