nitrogen

Hydrazine and its derivatives find use as rocket fuels. For all these compounds, the simple instability and tendency to burn or explode is derived from the truth that nitrogen is present as an oxide, and not as the far far more stable nitrogen molecule . When nitrates burn or explode, the formation of the powerful triple bond in the resultant generates most of the power of the reaction. The capability to combine or “fix” molecular nitrogen is a key function of modern day industrial chemistry, where nitrogen and hydrogen are made to react to form ammonia, by what is named...