Main Difference
The main difference between Air and Oxygen is that the Air is a homogeneous mixture of the gaseous substances nitrogen, oxygen, and smaller amounts of other substances; gas mixture present in the Earth’s atmosphere and Oxygen is a element with the atomic number of 8
-
Oxygen
Oxygen is a chemical element with symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group on the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as well as with other compounds. By mass, oxygen is the third-most abundant element in the universe, after hydrogen and helium. At standard temperature and pressure, two atoms of the element bind to form dioxygen, a colorless and odorless diatomic gas with the formula O2. Diatomic oxygen gas constitutes 20.8% of the Earth’s atmosphere. As compounds including oxides, the element makes up almost half of the Earth’s crust.
Dioxygen is used in cellular respiration and many major classes of organic molecules in living organisms contain oxygen, such as proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and fats, as do the major constituent inorganic compounds of animal shells, teeth, and bone. Most of the mass of living organisms is oxygen as a component of water, the major constituent of lifeforms. Oxygen is continuously replenished in Earth’s atmosphere by photosynthesis, which uses the energy of sunlight to produce oxygen from water and carbon dioxide. Oxygen is too chemically reactive to remain a free element in air without being continuously replenished by the photosynthetic action of living organisms. Another form (allotrope) of oxygen, ozone (O3), strongly absorbs ultraviolet UVB radiation and the high-altitude ozone layer helps protect the biosphere from ultraviolet radiation. However, ozone present at the surface is a byproduct of smog and thus a pollutant.
Oxygen was isolated by Michael Sendivogius before 1604, but it is commonly believed that the element was discovered independently by Carl Wilhelm Scheele, in Uppsala, in 1773 or earlier, and Joseph Priestley in Wiltshire, in 1774. Priority is often given for Priestley because his work was published first. Priestley, however, called oxygen “dephlogisticated air”, and did not recognize it as a chemical element. The name oxygen was coined in 1777 by Antoine Lavoisier, who first recognized oxygen as a chemical element and correctly characterized the role it plays in combustion.
Common uses of oxygen include production of steel, plastics and textiles, brazing, welding and cutting of steels and other metals, rocket propellant, oxygen therapy, and life support systems in aircraft, submarines, spaceflight and diving.
-
Air (noun)
The substance constituting earth’s atmosphere, particularly:
“I’m going outside to get some air.”
-
Air (noun)
understood as one of the four elements of the ancient Greeks and Romans.
-
Air (noun)
understood as a particular local substance with supposed effects on human health.
“There was a tension in the air which made me suspect an approaching storm.”
-
Air (noun)
The apparently open space above the ground which this substance fills, formerly thought to be limited by the firmament but now considered surrounded by the near vacuum of outer space.
“The flock of birds took to the air.”
-
Air (noun)
A breeze; a gentle wind.
-
Air (noun)
A feeling or sense.
“to give it an air of artistry and sophistication”
-
Air (noun)
A sense of poise, graciousness, or quality.
-
Air (noun)
Pretension; snobbishness; pretence that one is better than others.
“putting on airs”
-
Air (noun)
A song, especially a solo; an aria.
-
Air (noun)
Nothing; absence of anything.
-
Air (noun)
An air conditioner or the processed air it produces. Can be a mass noun or a count noun depending on context; similar to hair.
“Could you turn on the air?”
“Hey, did you mean to leave the airs on all week while you were on vacation?”
-
Air (noun)
Any specific gas.
-
Air (noun)
A jump in which one becomes airborne.
-
Air (noun)
A television or radio signal.
-
Air (verb)
To bring (something) into contact with the air, so as to freshen or dry it.
-
Air (verb)
To let fresh air into a room or a building, to ventilate.
“It’s getting quite stuffy in this room: let’s open the windows and air it.”
-
Air (verb)
To discuss varying viewpoints on a given topic.
-
Air (verb)
To broadcast (a television show etc.).
-
Air (verb)
To be broadcast.
“This game show first aired in the 1990s and is still going today.”
-
Air (verb)
To ignore.
-
Oxygen (noun)
A chemical element (symbol O) with an atomic number of 8 and relative atomic mass of 15.9994.
“chalcogen”
-
Oxygen (noun)
Molecular oxygen (O2), a colorless, odorless gas at room temperature.
-
Oxygen (noun)
A mixture of oxygen and other gases, administered to a patient to help him or her to breathe.
-
Oxygen (noun)
An atom of this element.
-
Air (noun)
the invisible gaseous substance surrounding the earth, a mixture mainly of oxygen and nitrogen.
-
Air (noun)
air regarded as necessary for breathing
“the air was stale”
“the doctor told me to get some fresh air”
-
Air (noun)
the free or unconfined space above the surface of the earth
“he celebrated by tossing his hat high in the air”
-
Air (noun)
referring to the use of aircraft
“air traffic”
“all goods must come in by air”
-
Air (noun)
the earth’s atmosphere as a medium for transmitting radio waves
“radio stations have successfully sold products over the air”
-
Air (noun)
one of the four elements in ancient and medieval philosophy and in astrology (considered essential to the nature of the signs of Gemini, Aquarius, and Libra)
“an air sign”
-
Air (noun)
a breeze or light wind.
-
Air (noun)
an impression of a quality or manner given by someone or something
“he leaned over with a confidential air”
“she answered with a faint air of boredom”
-
Air (noun)
an annoyingly affected and condescending manner
“he began to put on airs and think he could boss us around”
-
Air (noun)
a tune or short melodious song
“traditional Scottish airs sung in the Gaelic tongue”
-
Air (noun)
a jump off the ground on a snowboard or skateboard.
-
Air (verb)
express (an opinion or grievance) publicly
“a meeting in which long-standing grievances were aired”
-
Air (verb)
broadcast (a programme) on radio or television
“the programmes were aired on India’s state TV network”
-
Air (verb)
parade or show (something) ostentatiously
“he took the opportunity of airing his knowledge of antiquity”
-
Air (verb)
expose (a room) to the open air in order to ventilate it
“the window sashes were lifted regularly to air the room”
-
Air (verb)
warm (washed laundry) to remove dampness
“I was airing the sheets”
-
Air (verb)
go out in the fresh air
“to go and air myself in my native fields”
-
Oxygen (noun)
a colourless, odourless reactive gas, the chemical element of atomic number 8 and the life-supporting component of the air.
“an oxygen supply”
“if breathing stops, there is no oxygen getting to the brain and the cells begin to die”
“hydrogen and carbon in the fuel combine with the oxygen in the air to form carbon dioxide and water”