How is Argon used to remove oxygen from a confined space

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I just watched this (https://youtu.be/jLX1-tNnvEo?t=897)(14:57) and the guy in the video used vacuum and argon gas to remove any oxygen from the melter but I don’t understand why is the argon used if you are already vacuuming all the air out anyway?

In: Chemistry

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Anonymous 0 Comments

>if you are already vacuuming all the air out anyway?

That’s the thing, it’s not taking all the air out.
A vacuum pump does not pull absolutely all of the molecules from an environment. Let alone a “regular” lab one. A perfect vacuum is actually nearly impossible. High grade vacuum chambers specifically meant for it can’t even replicate deep space levels of vacuum on earth.

So pulling 90%(made up number, don’t know the actual specs of his pump and chamber), and replacing it with inert gas, and repeating the process, will get effectively close to removing all of the oxygen. It’s like rinsing something soapy once. One pass might not get it all, but after a few times of getting most of it, it’s functionally good enough.

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